Into You
by brigadoonlove
Summary: It has always been the guys: Jacob, Quil, and Embry. Enter Adrienne Collins, a spirited and loving fifteen year old from Indiana, who falls head over heels for life on the reservation, before everyone discovers that the legends are in fact reality.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This story is just going to be small drabbles over the time that Adrienne gets to know Quil, Jacob, and Embry. As annoying as it sometimes is, the chapters will be varying between POV's. I'd also love some opinions on how you all think this has started out, so please review.**

 **Disclaimer: I own Adrienne, but not Twilight.**

 **Chapter 1 - Embry  
June 2009**

I was sitting at the old plastic table outside the ice cream stand with Quil and Jacob when I saw her. She was directly in my line of vision, only about seven feet away, and she was absolutely beautiful. Her skin was a cream white stretched across her body, and a mixture of dark brown and black curls fell down to the middle of her back. She was dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank top that hugged her body in the best way. But the most noticeable thing about her appearance that I saw was that she was _healthy_. She was thin, but not too thin. She had small curves at her hips, and her legs looked strong.

Just then she turned her head in my direction and I caught her eyes, they were a deep hazel, and she gave a small smile to me. At the same time I heard Quil's voice boom.

"Yo, Embry, what are you staring at?" he turned around in his chair and caught sight of her and she blushed, turning back toward the ice cream stand.

Jacob noticed her too and then they were both staring at her and I kicked their legs under the table. "Could you be a little more discreet?" I whispered to them.

Jacob scoffed. "You're one to talk." I rolled my eyes, stealing another glance at her, knowing that she'd probably be leaving soon.

The man behind the counter handed her a cone with strawberry ice cream and she gave him a five dollar bill. She took the change from him and glanced back to me, a smile still on her lips. I averted my eyes to the milkshake that was on the table in front of me.

"Shut up," I said to Jacob, a little too late.

"Oh, come on dude, go talk to her," Quil loudly whispered.

I heard Jacob snort. "I don't think he'll have to."

"What?" Quil and I said at the same time but our question was answered when I saw the girl out of the corner of my eye, and she was right next to me.

When our eyes met she grinned with perfect teeth. "Hi!" she exclaimed excitedly. She was even more beautiful up close. "Do you mind if I sit with you?" she gestured to the open seat between Quil and I.

I shrugged. "Sure."

"Thanks," she dropped her bag on the ground by her feet and plopped into the seat with a sigh, tossing her phone onto the table. "I'm Adrienne by the way."

Quil was the first one to speak. No doubt he's the one that's always trying to go after girls. "I'm Quil," he replied, flashing a bright smile. He was flirting, of course. "This is Jacob and Embry." He pointed to us as he said our names and she nodded politely.

"Cool," she took a large bite out of her ice cream before continuing. "So you guys live on the reservation? Or are you just visiting?"

"We live here," Jacob answered. "What about you? Do you live in Forks?"

She nodded, a slight grimace playing on her face. "Just moved here from Indiana."

"That's pretty far," I commented. It was the first thing that I said and she grinned at me.

"Yeah but the summers there are brutal. They're crazy humid, so it's kind of nice here at least for now."

As if on cue, a small breeze blew by and she let her head fall back to enjoy it. Her phone buzzed twice and she glanced at the screen but didn't bother to pick it up.

"How old are you guys?" she asked curiously, running the hand that wasn't holding the ice cream cone through her hair.

"Fifteen," Jacob replied. "You?"

"Me too," she beamed at us. None of us really knew how to respond to this girl talking to us. Not that we hadn't talked to girls, but mostly just that we'd known all those girls since kindergarten.

There was a small silence between us as she watched people pass by and finished the rest of her ice cream.

"So what do people usually do around here in the summer?" she questioned us. "My step dad won't be here to pick me up until 5 or so tonight."

I checked my phone and it was only 11:45.

"Well we usually just come here or go to each other's houses," Quil answered her. "Today we were goin' to go to Jake's and work on the rabbit."

That sparked her interest and she raised her eyebrows. "What's that? A car?"

"Yeah, it's a car Jake's building."

"Cool, like from scratch?"

"Sort of," Jacob replied. "You can come over and check it out if you want, since you don't have anything else to do. "

She smiled back at Jacob and we had our answer. 

The garage was a mess, with tools and old pop cans scattered all over the ground. As far as I knew, Jacob had never had a girl in here, probably not even his sisters. But Adrienne didn't seem to mind, she just eyed the rabbit which was barely close to being finished.

"I started on it about a year ago, and it's been taking a while. I'm pretty low on funds," Jacob admitted but she smiled anyway.

"I think it's awesome," she gushed. "I mean, I don't really know that much about cars, but it seems like it's a lot of work and it's really cool that you're committed to something like this." Jacob grinned with pride. "Besides it's not going to matter how long it took you, you'll just feel so good after it's finished."

She was just boosting his ego and I saw Quil roll his eyes. "Oh he's not doing the whole thing by himself. We're helping him."

Jacob snorted. "Yeah right, do you guys even know how to change a tire?"

I just shrugged.

"I know how to change a tire, and how to change the oil." Adrienne exclaimed proudly.

Jacob raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

She nodded. "Yeah my dad taught me how when I was like, in case of an emergency, and before my mom met Dave it came in handy _a lot_."

"Dave's your stepdad?" Quil asked.

"Yup," she answered. "They met when I was in eighth grade and that's why we moved here. They got married but he wanted to be able to settle down where he grew up, which was Forks."

"Do you like him?"

"He makes my mom happy and that's really all that matters to me."

"What about your dad?"

"Oh my dad still lives in Indiana," she explained, but I noticed that her face fell for a moment as she said that. "My parents were never married. They had a really short-lived romance while my dad and his wife, who's my step mom, were split up. Which is how I came along."

She was so open and willing to talk about anything and it was sort of captivating. I found myself starting to ask the questions because I wanted to know more. "But you knew your dad well?"

"Yeah I stayed with him all the time in the summer and on weekends. We only lived a few hours away at the time. In fact I'm actually supposed to be going there on August 1st up until school starts, but that all depends on how cheerleading tryouts go."

Quil left pretty soon after that when his sister called and asked to babysit her daughter Lily, so the rest of the afternoon Adrienne sat next to Jacob asking him questions about the rabbit and life living right next to the beach until we heard Billy yelling for him around 3:30. When we walked out of the wooded area Billy was at the top of the ramp in his old wheelchair, eyeing Adrienne suspiciously.

"Hey kids," Billy yelled to us. I nodded my hello but Adrienne made a beeline for the porch.

"I'm Adrienne," she said as she bounded up the ramp, grinning. "You must be Billy."

"That's what they call me," he took her hand and smiled back at her. "They aren't holding you captive now, are they?"

Jacob rolled his eyes. "What did you want, Dad?" he asked, trying to quickly change the subject.

"Charlie just called and was wanting to know if we wanted to get together tonight and watch the baseball game, what do you think about that?"

Jacob immediately perked up and we all knew why.

"Will Bella be there?"

Billy grinned. "I don't know, I guess we'll just have to see. The game starts at 4."

"I'll go wash my hands and then we can go," Jacob ran passed his father and into the house without another word.

"I should probably head back to the beach in case Dave shows up early," Adrienne began. "It was really nice to meet you Billy."

He nodded to her. "Likewise, hopefully I'll see you again."

"Yeah I'm gonna head back too," I called to Billy. "Tell Jake we said bye!"

Billy rolled back into the house and I heard him mumble. "Sure, sure."

I turned back to Adrienne and she had already started to walk the hill towards the beach. I caught up to her and she smiled but didn't say anything. We walked side-by-side in a peaceful silence in a while before she spoke up.

"So who's Bella?" she asked curiously.

"Oh she's the daughter of Billy's best friend, Chief Swan," I explained while she listened intently. "She moved here about halfway through the school year from living with her mom, and Jake's got a huge crush on her."

"Does she like him back?"

I shook my head. "No, she's got a boyfriend in Forks, but Jake's just biding his time. Waiting to swoop in and catch her. He's way over his head."

She shrugged mindlessly. "Well hopefully things go good for him," she sounded genuine and I found myself thinking of questions that I'd like to ask her.

Once we reached the boardwalk, she took a seat at a small piece of driftwood by the trees.

"Do you want me to wait with you?" I asked her.

"Sure," she replied with a small smile and I sat down next to her. It was quiet again for a moment before she started to talk. "So if you don't work on cars, what kind of stuff do _you_ do?"

I was caught off guard by her question. She had seemed more interested in what Jacob did than me, but I was mostly used to that because Quil and Jacob were always more outgoing than I was with strangers. Not that they ever got girls either, we were pretty low on the totem pole around the rez because we were so young.

"I like to build stuff," I explained. Her hazel eyes filled with curiosity at my words and I blushed slightly as I continued. "I like to build anything really, I'm pretty into construction or architecture."

The only people that really knew that about me were the guys and my mom. I was a pretty private person, but I felt like I could tell her anything.

"Can you draw?"

"A little bit, but mostly just buildings," I replied. "Can you?"

She nodded, a small blush creeping into her cheeks now. "Yeah but I hate drawing buildings," she admitted. She reached into her bag and pulled out a small sketchbook. "I like to draw people, I find them fascinating. When I lived in Indiana, I'd sometimes go to the nearest park and just sit on the swings and watch people."

The drawings that were in her sketchbook were incredible. There was so much detail in every feature, I felt like I was looking at a black and white photograph. One sketch was of a toddler sitting on a blanket, another was of an old couple relaxing on a bench. "These are really good," I told her and she smiled triumphantly.

"I don't usually show people my sketchbook," she said as I handed it back to her. "So consider yourself lucky."

A vibration came from her phone and she glanced at it for a second and then she opened her sketchbook and wrote something in the bottom corner of the page, ripping it off. "Dave is here so I've got to go, but here's my number. Let me know next time you'll all be hanging out and, if it's okay with Quil and Jacob, I'll tag along."

"Will do."

She leaned over and kissed me very lightly on the cheek. "Thanks for keeping me company today, Embry," she said with a grin. "I'll see you soon."

Then she ran across the sand to the parking lot, disappearing into someone's car and leaving me alone at the bench with a phone number in my hand and her on my mind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 - Embry  
August 2009**

We were in the corner of the garage lounging on some old fold-up chairs that Adrienne had decided to bring with her today.

"See?" she exclaimed, pulling her legs up to her chest. "Actually having a place to sit other than a tire makes me want to hang out here more."

Jacob huffed but sat down on one of the chairs, sweat forming on his forehead. He had been hard at work lately, trying his best to get the rabbit finished by the time he turned sixteen.

Ever since the first day we had met Adrienne, she would come to the La Push at least three times a week to hang out with us, in between her cheerleading practices. We would usually spend the days in the garage when it was raining, but today was a different. Today the sun was shining brightly and Adrienne had other plans.

"It's not raining outside," she announced, taking a swig of her Pepsi and sitting it back in the built in cup holder. She watched some guys jump off the cliffs a few weeks back, and she'd been bugging us to take her out, and we promised that we would sometime when it wasn't raining. "You know what that means right?"

Jacob rolled his eyes at her persistence. "Did you bring a bathing suit?" he asked.

She nodded vigorously. "I bring a bathing suit every time, just in case," she assured him, digging through her bag and pulling out a dark blue bikini.

"Alright well I guess today is the day," Quil smiled wickedly at her, pumping his fist in the air. He'd been waiting for this day, to see if she would actually have the courage to jump.

Adrienne ran to get changed in Jacob's house, and when she came out she was wearing a white sundress, and you could see the faint blue of the bathing suit through the dress. As cheesy as it sounded, every time I saw her, she took my breath away. She had tanned slightly over the weeks she had been spending with us, but the white against her skin made it seem more prominent. She pulled her dark curls into a bun at the top of her head as she walked toward us, grinning.

It took about forty-five minutes to get to the cliffs, Adrienne slipping on rocks a couple of times as we climbed to the top of the bottom cliff. I watched her closely, and I could tell that she was starting to get nervous the closer we got, but her attitude never faltered.

This cliff wasn't the tallest one, but it was the only one people ever jumped off of, unless you were Sam Uley or his disciples, which was almost suicidal. She stopped short as we reached the cliff and I noticed that her hands were shaking slightly.

"One of us can go first, if you want," I whispered to her, and when she looked up at me I could see the fear in her eyes.

Quil looked back to us and grinned. "I'll go!" he barely got the words out of his mouth before he ran and jumped off the cliff and when I looked down to my forearm, Adrienne's hands were latched so tightly that her knuckles were turning white.

"You know you don't have to do this," Jacob said, noticing the fear in her eyes.

She shook her head fiercely. "No, no, it's okay. One of you guys go, I just need another minute."

Jacob glanced back down to her my arm, her hands still clasped tightly and he sighed. "Not everybody is as crazy as Quil is," Jacob's hand came up to Adrienne's shoulder, I assumed in a comforting manner. He walked to the edge and jumped, not quite as dramatically as Quil had but a gasp still escaped her lips.

We stood there quietly for a few minutes as I heard her breaths slow down only slightly.

"Embry?" she asked in a small voice. I'd never heard her voice sound so vulnerable before. "Would it be weird if we jumped together?" her grip on my arm loosened but she kept ahold.

I didn't reply at first, surprise washing over me. "Yeah, of course we can," I told her, earning a nervous smile from her lips. "How do you want to do it? Like this?" I looked down at my arm and she dropped her hand almost instantly.

She blushed lightly and I would have kissed her right then if I thought it were appropriate. Much to my disappointment, the last few weeks she had been showing interest in Jacob and he was loving it. She would tease him endlessly about Bella, and lean over him to whisper flirtatiously while he worked on the rabbit and then they'd laugh.

Jacob still liked Bella, even though she was dating that guy from Forks that our tribe didn't really like. Charlie would invite him and Billy over to eat pizza and watch the game and Jacob would go every time just in case he got to see Bella but he never did. She was always at her boyfriends or doing something with his family, and he'd sulk about it every time he came home.

"Actually, do you think I could climb on your back?" she asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

Her face was still flushed and she flashed a small smile, and I knew that I would have sold my soul to the devil if it meant that I could see her smile like that again.

"Yeah, that should be fine," I told her as I crouched a little lower. I had been growing so fast lately, I was nearly 13 inches taller than her 5 foot frame, but she never seemed intimidated by it. I looked away as she stripped off the white cover-up, tossing it on a nearby rock. I felt her hands at my shoulders as she jumped, wrapping her bare legs around my waist and her arms around my neck.

Her uneven breathing was right in my ear and I could feel her heart against my back beating wildly as I placed my hands on her thighs and began to walk forward. The closer we got to the edge, the more ragged her breaths sounded and I stopped right at the edge. I could barely make out Jacob and Quil at the shoreline, but I could hear them hollering at us to jump.

"Don't let go of me," she whispered in my ear, the hot breath sending a shiver down my spine.

"Never," I replied before jumping with just enough force that we were both sent flying in the air. Her legs tightened around my waist when I jumped and I heard a small scream escape her lips but it only lasted a second.

I'd always liked the rush of cliff diving, but nothing was compared to the rush I felt at diving with Adrienne's body pressed against me.

We hit the water with force but her grip never faltered. Just before we surfaced, our breathing catching up with us, I swore I could feel her lips on my neck.

She didn't let go until we reached the shore, hopping off of me and adjusting her suit. We all stared at her, gauging her reaction to the diving. She let her hair down, ringing it out on the sand and then tossing it back up. She caught us staring and I raised my eyebrows at the same time that she grinned widely.

Instead of saying anything she took off running toward the cliff. "Race you there!" I heard her yell and we were all taken aback for a few seconds before running to catch up to her, ready to jump again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 – Adrienne  
September 2009**

I couldn't remember a time in my life where I hadn't been best friends with my mom. She'd had me at the ripe age of eighteen and I was sort of the mistake of a lifetime. My grandparents were furious when she announced the news, ultimately because it was a one-time fling with my father who was a married man, split up with his wife at the time, and he was nearly 10 years older than my mom.

When the news came out my grandparents tried to control the way that my mother raised me, and after months of screaming and an endless stream of tears, she packed her bags to move in with my grandparents on my father's side, the Collins'. Most people of the town thought that the situation was strange but it worked for us.

We lived with them until I was about five when my Grandpa Collins developed Alzheimer's and it was no longer reasonable for a child to be constantly asking questions. My mom took care of him though and after he died and my grandma got sick, she took care of her too and that's when she discovered that she wanted to be a nurse, and she became a damn good one too.

From there we lived in a small apartment above the restaurant that my mom worked at to put herself through nursing school. I spent most of my afternoons with the owner, Pam's, kids, where I learned how to put on makeup and defend myself. Pam's son, Mark, was the first boy I ever beat up and he was also the first boy I ever kissed.

After my mom became a registered nurse she began working at the hospital about three hours away and we had to move. That's where she met Dave.

Dave was a doctor at the same hospital and the two of them fell in love instantly. I didn't really have an opinion about Dave, all I knew was that my mom was always smiling around him and that was enough for me. I put on a smile even when my mom approached me about the move to Forks.

So here I am, sitting on the counter of my small bathroom with my mom directly in front of me, applying blush to my cheeks. I loved it when my mom had agreed to do my makeup for me because it was mesmerizing to watch her focus on getting each line perfect.

I was basically the spitting image of her. Our eyes were the same deep hazel with flecks of green and brown mixed together and our alabaster skin contrasted exceptionally with our dark curls that fell carelessly down our back. The differences between us were small but noticeable only to me. She had laugh lines and her hands were worn from washing her hands continuously at the hospital, and she was extremely thin while I had recently been developing curves.

When she finally pulled back she was smiling and I noticed a few tears forming in her eyes. The smallest things made her tear up and luckily I didn't inherit that trait.

I jumped off of the counter and she helped me into my dress when we heard the doorbell ring. She smiled brightly at me as I studied myself in the mirror. My hair fell in a loose braid on my left shoulder and my eyelids glittered brightly.

My dress was a halter, light pink jewels wrapping around my neck. The jewels also outlined just below my chest while the rest of the dress was a pink chiffon fabric that protruded at my waist. I tugged on the heels that I'd picked out for the night, a light pink with glitter on every surface.

I could hear the muffled conversations from downstairs and nerves filled my stomach for the smallest second before I marched out of the room with my mom in tow.

Dave was sitting in his recliner watching the football game that he had recorded while my three best friends were cramped together on the sofa awkwardly but they all turned to look at me when my heels clicked on the hardwood floor of the living room.

The three of them stood up in unison, Dave following suit, and I felt myself blush.

They were all dressed in plain dress shirts with ties and they were all breathtakingly beautiful, as usual.

"You look great," Jacob grinned at me, stepping forward and pulling me into a warm hug. His hair was tied neatly at his neck and he smelled like La Push.

I had started school in August and I was already tired of it. All of my classes were advanced placement and starting in January I would be taking classes online through Olympic College part-time. I hadn't made many friends yet, just a few people from my cheerleading squad, but I spent most of my time in La Push anyway so it didn't really matter.

We pushed our way out of the house and Dave drove us to the school. I spent the fifteen minute ride listening to Quil tell us an animated story about a fight he almost got into for hitting on a seniors girlfriend, which was typical Quil behavior.

I decided to take the opportunity to get a better look at Embry, who was sitting in the back while I was in the front. His hair was loose, but brushed, and it had grown to land at his shoulders. His dress shirt was black and his tie white, and you could see his muscles tighten when he moved his arms. He had gotten bigger since I first met him, in most aspects. He practically grew a foot over the course of the summer and he gained more muscle than I probably weighed.

His light brown eyes caught me staring and I blushed before looking away.

There were white lights tangled in the bushes in front of the cafeteria and a table was set up through the doors with the volunteers taking the money at the door. Ms. Cope smiled at me but eyed the boys as I handed her the twenty dollar bill. Quil smirked at her as we walked by the table and I could almost bet that we'd be watched the entire night.

For some reason, in Forks, the Native boys over in La Push had a bad name. It may have had something to do with the Disciples, as Jacob called them, who were apparently apart of some do-gooder gang. There were tables lining the outskirts of the cafeteria where people were sitting with their groups of friends.

The four of us found an empty table in the back near the array of windows and plopped into the seats while we watched the few brave students dance.

It took twenty minutes before I finally convinced Quil to get up and dance with me and I thanked goodness I'd put on heels because otherwise the dancing would have been awkward. The two of us danced together for most of the night but I eventually left him on the dance floor with a freshman girl who was crushing hard on him and I could tell that he didn't mind.

I stepped outside to get a breath of fresh air and noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. Embry was lying on his back in the middle of the patch of grass behind the school, either staring at the sky or sleeping.

"Embry?" I said quietly and his eyes met mine, worry lining them.

"What's wrong? Is the dance over?"

I shook my head. "No, I just wanted to get some fresh air," I assured him and he relaxed lightly.

I walked slowly towards him and he smiled widely at me. "It's clear out tonight, so I'm watching the dark clouds move. I wanna see if there's gonna be any stars," he explained. "Would you like to join me?"

I nodded, kicking off my shoes in the process and he peeled off his dress shirt to reveal a black t-shirt, and laid it out on the grass beside him.

I could feel the heat radiating off his skin as I took my place, closing my eyes and letting the world move around me. I don't know how long we laid there, in a comfortable silence, enjoying the air of the night.

I turned onto my side to stare at the side of his face and his mouth pulled up into a small smirk. His features were losing the boyish look, becoming more prominent and structured. I wanted to lean over and kiss his jaw, run my hands along his chest and then tangle them in his hair. I wanted to plant light kisses down his neck and I wanted to feel his lips on mine. I wanted his hands to be everywhere and I wanted Embry. I'd wanted him since the first day I met him, his shy eyes capturing mine on the beach.

I'd imagined a moment like this with him a thousand times but I never had the courage to do anything about it. It would be so simple to lean over and kiss just below his ear, one light kiss, but the threat of rejection rang clear in my head.

The threat of losing him as a friend and then ultimately losing Jacob and Quil as well scared the crap out of me. They were the only friends I had here, other than my mom, and I needed them.

"You're beautiful, did you know that?" The words slipped out before I had time to stop myself. His cheeks darkened slightly and he turned his head so we were face to face.

His eyebrow furrowed slightly and he shook his head. "You're the beautiful one, Adrienne," he replied and I felt my heart stutter.

I felt so safe here with him, his eyes smoldering against mine. My mind did a complete 180 as I began to move closer to him. I felt like he would do anything to protect me, be anything to protect me. I felt so grateful to be a part of his presence and I wanted to show him that, I wanted to thank him.

His hand found my cheek and he started moving closer and every inch of my body was screaming. He smelled like driftwood and the ocean and my eyes fluttered close, my heart hammering in my chest.

"Embry?" Jacob's voice bellowed from the doors of the cafeteria, and both of us jumped away from each other and quickly sat up. "Dude, the dance is over and I can't find Adrie-" He stopped short once he noticed me and felt my cheeks burning furiously.

I glanced over to Embry and his eyes darted around, not making contact with mine. I sighed as he helped me stand up, pulling my shoes back on. Jacob eyed us suspiciously when Embry shrugged his shirt back on and my cheeks were burning but Embry still wasn't looking at me.

We walked to Dave's care in an awkward silence and I sighed when I realized that all I had left was my ability to imagine how things would have gone if Jacob hadn't interrupted us.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 – Adrienne  
January 2010**

"Hey, guys," Jacob looked irritated. More than irritated actually, but he put on a fake smile for the girl that was sitting next to him on the bench. _Bella Swan_. She was the daughter of Chief Swan who also happened to be one of Billy's best friends. Jacob had been ditching us a little too often lately to spend time with Bella. I didn't mind, honestly, but I wasn't around as often as Quil and Embry were and they were more than a little peeved about it.

I'd seen her around school briefly but she mostly stuck to herself, at least she had ever since Edward Cullen had moved away. According to Ella from school, they had been dating around six months and they were together every second of the day and then all of the sudden, without so much as a warning, his whole family just picked up and moved to California and Bella was heartbroken.

I stood in the middle of the garage, Embry and Quil on either side of me, and examined her. She had auburn colored hair and chocolate brown eyes. Her skin was pale and she almost looked sickly. She held her arm around her chest like she was in pain. I wasn't sure what to make of her, but I figured that if she made Jacob happy I could do my best.

"Hey, Jake," Quil replied. He was blatantly staring at Bella. She smiled lightly at him and he winked at her. "Hi, there."

I rolled my eyes at Quil as Jacob introduced us. "This is Embry, Adrienne, and Quil," Jacob was talking only to Bella and then his eyes moved to us. "Guys, this is my friend, Bella."

I caught Quil and Embry give each other a puzzled look from the corner of my eye and I knew exactly what they were thinking. Jacob had, not purposely, given them the impression that Bella was more than just a friend. I jumped in before either of them had the chance to say anything, for Jacob's sake.

"You're Charlie's daughter, right?" I asked her with a small smile.

"That's right," she replied with a nod.

Quil was at her side in an instant, holding his hand out to her. She took it and I could tell she was slightly confused. "I'm Quil Ateara," his cocky smile never faltered and I fought the urge to roll my eyes again.

"Nice to meet you, Quil," she said.

Embry spoke up then, probably feeling left out. "Hey, Bella. I'm Embry, Embry Call – you probably already figured that out, though." He waved shyly at her and I felt _myself_ blush. He was always so shy, but for me that was part of the reason I liked him so much.

"Nice to meet you, too."

I made myself comfortable next to Bella. "I'm Adrienne," I said quietly, enveloping her into a small hug. She tensed and I pulled away quickly. "Sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I'm a hugger."

She blushed a deep crimson and shook her head. "No its okay, I'm just not used to it is all."

"Oh well you will be, with time," I assured her and she smiled at my words.

"So what are you guys doing?" Quil asked, still staring at Bella. I wanted to smack him for being so outwardly obvious. Especially since she was sort of labeled as Jacob's girl, but I refrained at least until after she left.

"Bella and I are going to fix up these bikes," Jacob announced. This bit of news surprised me and I raised my eyebrows, eyeing Bella carefully. She didn't look like the type of girl who would know anything about fixing up motorcycles but I didn't press it. _I guess you can't always judge a book by its cover_ , I thought.

The boys immersed themselves in conversation about the bikes, leaving Bella and I with silence.

"So," I began, not really sure what to say to her. "You're a senior, right? You go to school in Forks?" She nodded uncomfortably but I kept going. "I'm a sophomore there this year, but I'm doing online classes at Olympic College part-time so I don't have a whole lot of classes there."

Her eyebrows knitted together. "I didn't know that they offered that there," she said quietly and I shrugged.

"My mom sort of set it all up. I take my high school classes in the morning, go to lunch, and then I have study hall for the rest of the day where I basically just get online and do what I need to. I just started last week though, so we'll see how it goes."

She seemed to loosen up the more that I talked, so I began babbling about random things that I'd heard from school and how much fun La Push was in the summer. She commented lightly on some things but for the most part I wasn't even sure if she was listening and I idly wondered what it was that Jacob saw in her. I mean, she was pretty enough if you could get passed the fact that she looked ill, but it just seemed like she was half a world away. Like she was focusing on something totally different, her mind just wasn't all there.

During one of my pauses in between stories, she sighed and stood up. I watched as Jacob's face fell. "I should probably head home and get dinner ready for Charlie," she explained to him.

"Oh… well, I'll finish taking these apart tonight and figure out what more we'll need to get started rebuilding them. When do you want to work on them again?"

Jacob and Bella began planning out their schedule for the rebuilding of the bikes and I let my eyes fall on Embry who was leaning down in front of one of them, examining the parts.

It was almost as if the almost-kiss had never happened at the homecoming dance. We never talked about it and we sure as hell never got that close to each other again. After a month of me waiting to see if he'd make another move, I'd decided to move on with my life and I was now dating a junior boy named Peter that I met in my gym class.

I'd thought that it would be hard to find someone who would be alright with my three best friends being boys, but Peter never seemed to have a problem. He usually came to La Push with me once a week and the guys were starting to like him, or at least Jacob was.

I was broken from my train of thought when I watched Jacob smack Quil on the back of the head. I stifled a laugh as his voice filled with as much venom as was possible for Jacob to have. "That's it, get out," his face twisted into a not-so-menacing glower.

"No, really, I have to go," Bella was already making her way to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow, Jacob."

She disappeared through the branches and Quil and Embry both glanced at each other and then back at Jacob. "Woooooo," their voices more high pitched than I'd ever witnessed. Jacob smacked both of them in the back of the head this time and I rolled my eyes.

"If either of you set so much as one toe on my land tomorrow, I'll make sure that you regret it," his voice was mildly threatening and both of the boys rolled their eyes.

"You got it, Jake," Embry confirmed as Jacob sat down on the bench.

Quil snorted. "Speak for yourself."

Jacob ignored him and turned to me. "Thanks for that, by the way," his eyes softened as he spoke. "She's not good with the whole talking thing."

I smiled in return. "Anytime, Jake."

I glanced at the clock and noticed that it was close to five o'clock and I sighed. "I've actually got to head out guys," I announced. "I'm meeting Peter at the beach soon."

Quil and Embry groaned in unison. "Yeah, yeah," I felt my eyes roll again. "I'll see you guys later this week."

I gave each of them a peck on the cheek, trying not to accidentally linger too long at Embry, before stalking out the door and heading toward the water.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. Yes, part of this chapter was taken directly from New Moon but rephrased to be in Adrienne's point of view.**

 **AN: I've noticed that most of the time, when people make stories of another friend of the boys being in the picture, everybody always hates Bella. Although I think that Bella was a little selfish in New Moon and with her time spent with Jacob, she was a teenage girl who was in high school. Everybody is allowed to be a little selfish, and she would have gladly taken a bullet for Jacob any day. She loved him, if even in a tormented way, and I don't think she's bad. She was just confused.**

 **I just wanted to give you my take on that situation. Thanks. –J.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 – Adrienne  
February 2010 PART ONE**

Quil had decided to throw a party tonight, which, on any other night would have been totally fine. But this night in particular was mine and Peter's four month anniversary and he had only one thing on his mind and I knew that alcohol wouldn't mix well with my judgement.

I had done my fair share of dirty things with boys in the past, but I could never quite bring myself to take _that_ step. The moments and the boys never felt right and that was important. I wanted my first time to be special and I personally would have liked it to be with the same person for the rest of my life.

Peter had been extra horny lately and he was always pushing the envelope as far as I would let him, but we would eventually stop and I almost felt bad for him but things never felt like they should when you're about to lose your virginity. It always felt too rushed or too rough.

He parked his car in front of Quil's driveway and I sighed. The music was loud and people were scattered all over his front yard in a drunken state. I had an intense feeling that the party would be busted and Quil would be grounded for the rest of his life but I pushed it aside and walked in anyways.

His arm was wrapped around me as we entered the house. I examined the scene around the room. Most of the people I recognized just from passing, and of course Peter and I were the only ones from Forks so eyes wandered to us more frequently.

I spotted Leah sitting on the couch and I knew that she was uncomfortable. The only reason she came was because I asked her to, and some of it probably could have done with the fact that a party on the reservation would piss Sam off to the highest degree and that's what she was hoping for.

A few months before, in September, Quil's family had a potluck to celebrate the Cullen's leaving town. Although none of the kids really understood the importance, we went anyway because it was free food. The Black's, Ateara's, and Clearwater's were all there, along with Embry and me. That's where I met Leah. I'd made a taco dip that she absolutely fell in love with and we bonded over our love of cooking.

Everything was fine until the disciples showed up, which included Sam Uley, and he brought his fiancé, Emily Young. As soon as they entered the small house, hand in hand, Leah bolted out the back door. Her younger brother, Seth, turned to run after her but I stopped him and went myself, figuring she'd rather have a girl see her tears than a boy. We sat in the grass at the tree line and I held her as she cried, our backs facing the house.

Sam and Leah had dated for four years when he disappeared for two weeks and nobody knew where he was. When he returned, he looked different, but Leah stayed by his side. She constantly asked questions but didn't push too far, of fear that he'd disappear again. Then one weekend her best friend and cousin Emily came to visit and everything changed.

Sam broke up with Leah and began following Emily around, begging for her attention. Emily scoffed at him at first, but then she started to like him back and Leah was tossed away like yesterday's trash. Leah had become bitter and resentful and she kept to herself for the most part. My heart broke for her as she explained the story and her tears continued to flow.

I had a permanent glare towards Sam and Emily the rest of the day and Leah and I had somehow become best friends.

She stood and smiled half-heartedly as we approached her. "How long do we have to stay here again?" Leah yelled over the music.

"Not long," I replied.

I glanced around the room and noticed Embry was making his way over with two drinks in his hand. He handed me one with a smirk on his face and his long arm pulled me into a hug. "Vodka and cranberry, just the way you like it," he whispered and I felt myself blush when his breath hit my ear. Anytime we all got together to drink, Embry was the master at mixing them.

I took a small sip and smiled in delight. It was the perfect amount.

"Thanks for getting me one, asshole," Leah snapped at him and he rolled his eyes.

I noticed Peter's hand sliding up Leah's back but she flinched away. "I'll get you one, what do you want?"

She glared at him momentarily before replying. "Same thing."

He nodded and then stalked away.

My eyes met hers and she was just as confused as me. "What the hell was that?" I asked her.

"I have no freaking clue."

Embry's arm was still wrapped tightly around me and I could tell that he was drunk. "Come on," he said into my ear. "Let's dance." He began tugging at my hand but I stayed where I was.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Embry," I told him. He wouldn't be doing this if he weren't drunk and I didn't like it. "You know that I'm here with Peter."

Anger flashed in his eyes for a short moment and he dropped my hand before Peter reappeared with two drinks. He handed one to Leah and I raised my eyebrows at the designated driver. "Water," he said to me, snaking his arm around my shoulders and I leaned into him.

Embry was glaring daggers at Peter and I decided to relieve the tension. "Who's up next for beer pong?" I yelled across the room to Quil.

He grinned mischievously at me. "No one yet, you up for the challenge?"

"Of course we are," Embry yelled back before I had time to say anything. "Sign us up." Quil nodded and I felt Peter stiffen.

I'd seen Embry drunk dozens of times since I'd met him and he'd never acted like this before. He was being very forward and very angry and I didn't like it. Although I did have to admit that Embry and I were a fantastic beer pong team, we almost never lost.

The four of us sauntered into the kitchen by the table. Quil was standing at one end and we all made our way to the other. "You need a partner?" Leah asked Quil. He smiled widely at her and with a nod we were off on our game.

We were basically neck and neck with each other the first half of the game until Leah and Quil started getting cup after cup in a row. Embry and Quil were trash talking to each other like crazy and I rolled my eyes at their antics. We had three and they had one. Leah made the last cup for their team which meant Embry and I had to rebuttal or else we lost the game.

He shot the ball and it bounced off the edge of the cup and fell to the floor. I closed my eyes in half defeat. I hated when all of the pressure came down to me. I took a deep breath and threw the ball and it landed perfectly in the cup.

Embry and I cheered and he swooped me up into a tight hug, spinning me around a couple of times. He pulled back and there was something in his eyes. He'd had that look one other time before, at the homecoming dance, and I knew what was coming.

Fully aware that Peter was sitting right next to me, I immediately flung out of Embry's grasp and turned to Peter's chair but he wasn't there. I looked at Leah and she pointed to the back door. I started after him when something warm caught my arm and I turned sharply.

"Please don't go," Embry whined and I could feel myself blazing. How dare he do this to me? How dare he put me in this position? I wanted to smack him. No, I wanted to punch him. I pushed him back with all my force and ran out the back door. I stole one small glance at Embry through the glass and the hurt look on his face was almost enough to make me march right back in there and apologize.

But I wouldn't do that to Peter. I _couldn't_.

I stood on the small porch for a second, looking out into the forest. It was quiet out here, the music was muffled, and the chill of the cold air made me shiver. I was lost in my mind, so many things were running through my head, so many questions. Peter was sitting on an old plastic chair at the end of the porch, looking out at the forest as well.

"I love you, you know," Peter's voice was rough and he kept his eyes on the darkness. I went over the words in my head, tearing them apart piece by piece. Neither of us had ever said that to each other, and I was almost positive that I wouldn't be able to say them back. All I could hear in that moment was my heavy breathing. Peter looked at me then, his eyes glazed over. "But you love him." It wasn't a question.

"That's not true," I argued poorly and he glared momentarily at me.

"Stop lying to yourself, Adrienne," he said carefully. "Everybody knows you two are in love. Everybody except for you and Embry."

I wasn't sure what to say to him. What was I supposed to say? Part of me knew that he was right. I did love Embry, he was my best friend, but I couldn't deny the butterflies that erupted in my stomach every time he smiled at me or the way my pulse quickened whenever he touched me.

Peter stood up and walked toward me, so we were face to face. "I can't be with anybody who is in love with someone else," Peter's voice cracked as he spoke, there was so much hurt in his eyes and I wanted to hold him and tell him I was sorry but I knew that it wouldn't help him.

His hand caught my cheek and he smiled sadly at me. His lips pressed lightly to my temple and he was gone without another word.

I sat outside for a while before I went back in to find Leah and Quil playing two people that I didn't recognize. "He went home," Quil yelled over the music as I was glancing around. I nodded and made my way to the refrigerator, wondering idly how Quil got all of this alcohol.

I spotted a small bottle of Sailor Jerry in the back of the freezer that had been forgotten and snatched it up. I took a few gulps and felt free as the fire lit within me from the burn of the rum. I'd forgotten how good it felt to get drunk.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 – Adrienne  
February 2010 PART TWO**

I wasn't exactly sure what I was doing here before it happened, staring at the small blue house in front of me. I walked passed the graveled walkway and up the old wooden steps, landing in front of the newly painted light blue door. I took a deep breath and knocked three times, hoping the scent of alcohol wouldn't be too strong.

The door creaked open and Saundra was standing directly in front of me, her face scrunched together in confusion. She was dressed in pink nurse's scrubs, probably on her way into work.

"Adrienne?" she asked, looking at the time on her watch. "Aren't you supposed to be at Quil's party?"

A blush crept up my cheeks and I looked at my feet. I was never shy, that was the one thing that I always took pride in. But there was something so intimidating about Saundra, maybe it was the way she held herself or the way she spoke, but I was always taken aback when we were face to face, especially when we were alone and I was tipsy.

"I was," I replied weakly. "Something happened and I really needed Embry but I couldn't find him. Is he here?"

Her face softened slightly, curiosity filling her eyes, but rather than questioning me she nodded lightly. "He came home about an hour ago, he should be up in his room," she moved aside as an invitation for me to come in.

"Thank you," I said quietly and she nodded, smiling at me.

"Let Embry know that I'm headed to the hospital," Saundra said to me, pulling on her heavy winter coat. "I'm on call tonight, so I'll probably be home around 7." She snatched her purse from the table and disappeared out the front door.

I headed up the narrow staircase, taking a left at the top to come face to face with Embry. He was leaning against the doorway in all his glory, his jet black hair brushed neatly around his face. A plain black t-shirt hugged his arms and I felt myself blush. His face was soft but I couldn't miss the anger that flashed through his eyes.

"What's going on?" he asked, and that was all it took. The tears came rolling down my face faster than I knew possible and I found myself babbling on about Peter and the party and any trace of anger that he had was replaced with worry. "Adrienne, slow down. I can't understand you."

He dragged me with him across his messy room so we were sitting side by side on his bed, his scorching hot arm wrapped around my shoulders. "What's this about, Adrienne?

"Peter and I," I began, trying my hardest not to slur my words together as the tears kept coming. "We were sitting together on the patio at Quil's and-" I struggled to keep my composure together. "He said that he didn't want to be with me anymore."

Embry's large hands came up to wipe my tears away, his soft eyes catching mine. "What do you mean he doesn't want to be with you anymore?" he sounded half angry, and I felt his hands grow hotter as he spoke, a slight shake to them.

I shrugged and dropped my eyes from his. "I don't know," I lied. He wiped more tears away, moving his left hand down to rest on my shoulder.

He shook his head in disgust. "I don't understand how he wouldn't want to be with you," his voice was venomous as he spoke and it took me by surprise.

"What do you mean?" His eyes softened at my question and he pushed a strand of hair back behind my ear.

"I just don't understand," he stated matter-of-factly, shaking his head again. "You're beautiful, Adrienne, and so smart. You care about your family and friends, and basically any living creature. You have such a big heart, and there's no room in it for hatred. You would give someone the shirt off your back if they needed it, but you know how to stand up for yourself too. You're incredible, like nobody else I've ever met, and that's amazing," he paused for a moment. "Adrienne, you're amazing, and the thought of someone not wanting to be with you honestly just blows my mind."

My breath caught at his words. Was that really how he saw me? Was this really how he felt?

A mix of emotions washed over me as I contemplated the words that Peter had said at the party. _Everybody knows you two are in love. Everybody except for you and Embry._ I'd brushed it off as Peter's unnecessary jealousy. My friendship with Embry had always been different, more so than how things were with Quil and Jacob, but I had always thought it was just me. Even the two times that we'd nearly kissed I figured that it was just a heat of the moment thing. Had I been wrong?

Thrill rocked through me at the possibility that Embry could return my feelings and my actions raced ahead of my thoughts.

I moved so I was on my knees and latched onto his neck, hugging him as tight as possible. He seemed startled and confused but his arms immediately found their way around my waist as he pulled me into him. I pulled back to look at him, his deep brown eyes smoldering into mine and I wanted him, with every fiber in my body, I wanted him.

We were so close that I could feel his breath on my face and there was no other word to describe it but euphoric, that's how I felt. I leaned in closer, our lips only centimeters apart, my heart beating fast. I paused here just to see if he would pull away but he didn't, instead his eyes grew darker. My heart filled with joy and then my lips were on his.

Our mouths moved together in synchronization and my hands tangled into his hair as I shoved him back against the headboard. I climbed on top of him without another thought and he pulled me tighter against him. My mouth opened slightly as I flicked my tongue against his lips and I felt like I was being electrocuted with each touch but it felt so damn good.

His rough hands found the buttons of my flannel shirt and he wasted no time before throwing it on the floor. His fingers trailed up my arms and around my shoulders, the sensation sending a shiver up my spine and I rocked into him slightly, causing him to moan and it was the sexiest noise I'd ever heard. Our tongues danced together and my hands moved from his hair to his arms to the hem of his shirt to tug at the fabric.

As if he could read my mind, we broke apart for a split second, a small whine escaping my lips, and he pulled the shirt over his head and threw it aside. We were together again and my hands roamed the contours of his perfect chest and moaned into him loudly, not really caring about anything but Embry.

I had been with other guys before, any way other than sex, but none of them were like this. This was electricity everywhere and I never wanted to stop.

Then my phone rang.

We broke apart, our breathing heavy, and I grabbed the phone hastily.

"What?" I growled into the speaker. I could hear the light pound of music in the background.

Leah's sharp voice answered. "Adrienne? You're mom just called me and asked to speak with you. I told her you were in the shower and that I'd have you call her back," the phone muffled for a second and I heard her yell at someone in an authoritative tone. "Where the hell did you go?"

I blush crept onto my cheeks as I threw Embry an apologetic glance. His hair was in a tangled mess and his breathing was still slightly uneven. "I'm at Embry's," I replied and I knew that I'd be answering a thousand questions later. "I'll meet you at your house."

Before she could protest I hung up and glanced back at Embry.

His eyes were on my body, every single inch of it, and instead of feeling embarrassed like I normally would have, I felt alive. His eyes were curious and filled with lust and it almost made me attack him again until I remembered that I needed to call my mom.

He looked up at me just then and a smile played at his lips. I wasn't sure what to make of the situation, but I grinned back. "I'll see you tomorrow?" I asked and he nodded.

We both stood up at the same time and I pulled my shirt over my shoulders but before I could start buttoning, Embry's hands were on my shoulders. "You're beautiful," his hands fell from my shoulders to my waist and he pulled me in.

The hug was warm and there was an underlying meaning behind it. I wanted to ask him so many questions but I knew that my time was limited. I'd see him tomorrow.

As I walked out the door and headed towards the Clearwater's, I replayed the scene in my head, and I knew that there was no way tomorrow would come fast enough.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 – Embry  
February 2010 PART THREE**

Adrienne was the first person that I'd ever kissed but I was fairly certain, as her lips were on mine, that there wasn't a single person in the world that could top how amazing she felt on my lips. Everything about her was perfect, her soft hands roaming my chest, the way her face flushed a deep red every time she moaned.

I spent most of my days kissing her lately, every chance we got. In fact, we barely had a chance to talk about our relationship because we kept jumping each other.

But she made me feel different. She made me feel brave. I didn't have any problem slipping my hand under her shirt or passed her hips to feel the shape of her backside, and I must have been doing something right because she didn't protest once.

That day after the party, we agreed that it was time to just make everything official. Adrienne was my girlfriend and I was _ecstatic_. We spent as many days as we could together and if she couldn't come to La Push, we'd talk on the phone for hours. I never got tired of hearing her talk about her day at school or the drama that ensued at the basketball game.

We were supposed to meet after school and I was waiting on my front porch when she called.

"Hello?" I said into my cellphone.

"Hey baby," her soft voice chimed. I grinned helplessly as she said those words. "My couch just sent out a text and we have an emergency practice at 5:00. Meredith is sick so we have to change the formation for the dance."

"Okay?" I wasn't sure why she called to tell me that, but I found myself feeling very annoyed.

"I just don't think I'll be able to make it today. I have two tests tomorrow and the rough draft of a paper to go over. I really want to but I doubt my mom will let me," she sounded disappointed, and so was I. "I'll call you later though? When I get out of practice?"

"Yeah, okay," I mumbled quietly.

She said her goodbye but I didn't even here it. Something happened to me then, something that I didn't understand. My hands began to shake and I felt like I might throw up, but when I leaned over the railing nothing came up. It was like a dry heave. I watched as my hands began to tremble and every single party of my body ached.

I crashed off the porch, my body wracking with hard tremors. I tried to shake my head, tried to shake what was happening but it didn't work. It felt like all of my bones were breaking at the same time and I couldn't stop trembling.

My breathing grew heavier and all of the sudden I heard a loud rip and the fire inside me died down but only slightly.

A loud howl erupted from my mouth and I jumped back in horror, crashing loudly into the porch. _Did I just howl?_

I tried to shake my head again but it was useless, nothing worked.

I noticed pieces of clothing were scattered across the grass, red and blue, just like the shirt I was wearing.

 _What now?_ I heard someone growl furiously. The voice sounded familiar but I couldn't put a face to the sound.

 _There's a new one,_ Jared Monroe's voice was familiar and I didn't understand what was going on. I began pounding my head into the nearest tree, trying to get these god damn voices out of my fucking head.

 _Fat chance,_ I finally recognized that voice as Paul Bailey's voice. _I've been trying to get the voices out of my head for a fucking year._

I ignored what he said and continued to ram into the tree.

 _I didn't know that Embry was Quileute,_ Jared's voice wondered.

I'm not.

 _Yes you are,_ Sam Uley's voice entered my mind and I froze. What. The. Fuck. _Embry, you need to go as far into the forest as you can. I'll meet you there._

My mind was screaming at him but my body did what he said. It wasn't until I started running that I realized I was on four legs.

FOUR LEGS?

 _Just keep going we'll explain everything,_ Sam ordered. I didn't stop running but my thoughts were jumbled now. Why the fuck was I taking an order for Sam fucking Uley? Why the fuck were people talking in my head? Why the fuck did I have four legs?

I came to an immediate halt when I noticed a large, black wolf was standing directly in front of me. He was only slightly taller than me.

 _Embry,_ Sam's voice was calm and the wolf in front of me nodded his head. That's when I realized I must be dreaming, none of this was real.

 _Oh it's real,_ Paul growled at me.

 _Paul, shut up,_ Sam ordered. The voices in my head were silent for a moment and my thoughts were all that consumed me.

 _Have you ever heard the legends of the Quileute people, Embry?_ The wolf sat back on his haunches as he stared deep into my eyes.

My mind immediately wandered to when Quil, Jake, and I were kids. I was only ever allowed to be at the council meetings because Sarah Black babysat me while my mom was in school or at work. I'd heard most of the legends before. The Quileute people were supposedly descended from wolves – my thoughts stopped short as I took in the wolf in front of me.

He nodded again and I jumped back, my back hitting a tree with full force.

I shook my head furiously, glancing down at my body. Only instead of the body I was used to seeing I now saw _gray fur and paws_. What the fuck.

 _We are the protectors of our land, Embry,_ Sam began to speak softly but his words were still sharp. _It is our duty to protect our tribe from our natural born enemies, vampires._ I scoffed at his words but there was so much truth to them. _I phased for the first time nearly two years ago, and Jared and Paul have joined me since then._

I wasn't sure what to make of this situation and all I could think was that this couldn't be happening. I'm not Quileute, I'm Makah.

 _You're obviously part Quileute, otherwise you wouldn't be here,_ Jared chimed in. At that same time two other wolves emerged from the trees and they formed a large V behind Sam. I felt like I was going to be sick.

 _So you're saying that my mom is Quileute?_

I could tell that Sam felt uncomfortable on this subject. _Your father, actually._

I'd never known my father. My mom always said he was a dead beat guy in Makah and that's why she moved here. Anytime that I tried to broach the subject about meeting him, she'd start crying so I backed away from that.

Sam let something slip through then, curiosity at who my father was. Three different men flashed through my mind at that time. Two of them just so happened to be the fathers of my two best friends and I flinched.

 _No,_ I thought. Sam flinched then too, and I realized that the third man I'd seen was Sam's father.

I felt sick. My life was so fucked up.

 _Being a part-time wolf isn't all bad,_ Jared tried to cheer me up. _The running is awesome, we're so fast._

 _Emily's cooking is pretty bad ass, too,_ Paul jumped in.

Sam's mind immediately went to Emily and I got a whirlwind of different pictures of her. Most of them pictures of her and Sam laughing or kissing but one caught my attention. I could literally feel the guilt that he felt towards Emily, for the three long scars that ran along her face and down her arm.

 _That was_ you _,_ I accused and Sam flinched again.

 _There's always a risk, especially when you don't know how to control your temper,_ Sam's voice sounded worn now. As if he was tired of explaining this story. _Which is why you can't see your friends for a while._

 _What?! What the hell do you mean, I can't see my friends?_

His voice was sharp. _Jacob and Quil will phase eventually, but until then you need to avoid them. It's for their own safety._

Images of Adrienne flashed through my mind then. It wasn't Jacob and Quil that I was worried about, I'd already figured out that they'd be joining us soon considering both of them may be my half-brothers. It was Adrienne. She didn't have an ounce of Native blood in her, there's no way that she would be here, and there's no way that I wouldn't see her. Sam was fucking _insane_ if he thought he could stop me from seeing my own god damn girlfriend.

Apparently Sam took that as a challenge and he stood directly in front of me and spoke with more force than I'd ever heard someone speak. _You will_ _ **not**_ _see Adrienne,_ he growled at me. _You will not see her, speak with her, or even text her._

I cowered away from him, my head falling to the ground no matter how much I tried to lift it up. What the fuck?

 _Alpha's orders can't be disobeyed,_ Paul grumbled, obviously unhappy by this fact as well.

Of course this would fucking happen to me, just when things were going good. My mind flashed to that first night Adrienne had kissed me and all the other times since then. Anger exploded within me at the thought of not being able to be there for her, see her smile, or hear her laugh. She was going to hate me.

I never fucking asked for this. I didn't want it.

 _Come on, Embry,_ Jared reasoned. _None of us wanted this but we can't change who we are._

 _Fuck_ my life.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 - Adrienne  
February 2010 PART THREE**

13 times.

I'd called him 13 times and he didn't answer once. I'd thought it was weird when he didn't reply when I'd said goodbye on the phone, but not answering my phone calls was more than weird.

 _Maybe he was asleep,_ I thought. _Or maybe he got grounded._

It wasn't until I received a frantic call from Saundra stating that their front porch was completely torn apart and she couldn't find Embry anywhere that I began to worry. She said that she'd called Jacob and Quil and neither of them knew where he was either.

Two days passed and I couldn't focus on anything. Billy Black had the disciples looking everywhere for him. He said that they're the ones that had found Bella when she disappeared back in September and they would definitely find Embry.

On the third day I got a call from Saundra stating that everything was fine. Embry had just gotten lost in the woods and couldn't find his way back. _Lost in the woods? Yeah freaking right._ Embry grew up in La Push, he knew those woods like the back of his hand. In fact, he bragged about it constantly.

When I asked to speak with him, he turned the phone call away and I started to get anxious. It wasn't like Embry to refuse my phone calls and I just started to worry about him more.

I'd kept in touch with Quil and Jacob, and both of them said that Embry was ignoring them too, and that he hadn't been in school since they found him.

A week after he disappeared Quil called and asked me to meet him on the beach. I rode the bus there after school and he was sitting solemnly on the bench that Embry and I had sat at the first day I met him.

"Quil, what's wrong?" I asked worriedly.

He glanced up at me, his eyes full of some kind of an emotion that I didn't understand. He patted the seat next to me and leaned back, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I skipped school to see Embry today," he said.

"How is he? Is he okay?"

Quil let out an exasperated breath. "Yeah, he's fine. He was just sleeping. He says he's got mono or whatever."

"Mono?"

"Yeah, that kissing disease."

As far as I knew, I'd never had mono, and I was the only person that Embry had been kissing… Right?

"Well what else happened?" I asked anxiously.

He grimaced and looked down. "He says he doesn't want to be friends with us anymore," Quil's eyes were full of anger and hurt. I felt my heart break at his words, but I still didn't quite understand. He pulled something from his coat pocket. "He said – he asked me if I could give you this letter."

He handed it to me and my heart dropped. If he said he didn't want to be friends with us again then I had a pretty good idea of what this letter would say.

I took the letter but didn't dare open it in front of Quil. "I don't understand," I could feel the tears threatening to spill out. "Everything was going so good. He seemed so happy."

Quil shook his head. "That's what I don't get either. He had a crush on you since the first day we met you and I know for a fact that he wouldn't have wanted to break up with you. Something is off-"

He continued to speak but I didn't hear anything because about 30 feet away, coming straight out of the woods, was Embry. He was only wearing a pair of cut off shorts, not even a pair of shoes on his feet. His hair was completely buzzed off and I felt like I was going to be sick.

That wasn't even the worst part – no – the worst part was that he was following the disciples.

"What the fuck," I'd never heard Quil cuss before and it threw me for a loop but I could understand why. Embry _hated_ the disciples. He was constantly going on about how horrible they were and how he doesn't get why the council puts them on a freaking pedestal and here he fucking was, standing right with them.

He'd joined them.

The four of them turned towards us at Quil's exclamation and I didn't even have time to think before I was half way down the beach, running as fast as I could to the Clearwater's house.

"I am going to _fucking_ kill him," Leah was pacing back and forth in her living room and to say that she was mad would be the understatement of the century. She was absolutely livid.

"Who?" I asked weakly.

Her eyes blazed. "All of them! Paul with his _fucking arogant_ attitude, Jared with his _god damn_ happy-go-lucky self, Sam for all his _self-pretentious bull shit_ , and Embry for being an ignorant bastard and hurting his _best god damn friend_!"

I knew that Leah was pretty much bitter towards the disciples because of Sam but I'd never seen her blow up as much as she was right now and I felt like it was important for me to calm her down.

"Come on, Leah," I said quietly. "There's really nothing that we can do about it. Embry has made his choice and we should respect that."

Leah rolled her eyes at me and even I didn't believe the words I said. "We don't have to respect a damn thing that he's done. You know all of this shit is so fucked up! When Sam disappeared for the two weeks and got all weird, that's the same exact excuse that he used with me. That he got lost in the damn woods and that's bull shit! Sam knew these woods, there is no way he'd get fucking lost!"

I sat quietly as she fumed, not really up for saying much else. Her eyes were wild but when she looked down at me they softened slightly and she sat next to me on the couch, wrapping her arm around my shoulders.

"I'm really sorry he did this to you," her voice was softer than I'd ever heard it and in that moment I let myself go. I let myself cry as she rocked me back and forth and I didn't even care if I felt like a child, I just needed someone to hold me.

 **AN: Sorry I know that this one is short but there really wasn't anything else to be said. Thanks for the** **couple reviews and keep 'em coming! –J.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 – Adrienne  
May 2010**

I stared at Quil, wide-eyed and shocked. If I didn't known any better I would have thought that I was looking in the mirror because his face mimicked mine almost perfectly.

Of course it started with me crying, as it seems it always does. We had just found out that Jacob joined the disciples. Quil tried to reason with him but Jacob shook him off. I'd went to ask Bella about it one day but she'd went back into zombie mode so I pretty much had my answer.

I couldn't understand what was so god damned important about Sam and this stupid gang, especially since both of us knew how much Embry and Jacob hated the disciples anyways.

We were sitting on the floor of the living room as I sobbed helplessly into his shoulder and he soothed me with sweet promises. "It's okay Adrienne, I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere."

I wiped my tears lightly away and stared into his huge brown eyes.

I'd always thought of Quil as beautiful but it was almost an understatement. Honestly, he would never be able to compare to Embry in my eyes, but there was a certain charm about him. His hair was just starting to grow out longer than I'd ever seen it and it was curling slightly at the ends. He had always been burlier than the other two and it fit his mind well. Quil was cocky and there was no denying that.

Maybe that's why I'd never pursued him before. I liked the shy and quiet types because it was fun getting to watch them figure out how to break out of their shell, something that I knew he didn't need any help doing.

Suddenly Quil's hands grabbed either side of my face and he stared at me for a moment and I couldn't even hear him breath. Before I knew it his lips were on mine, opening my mouth to gain entrance and I let him only because I was so startled.

I didn't really move at first but he was persistent which I thought was so very _Quil_. I started to kiss him back, meeting his tongue with unfamiliar swipes and I really tried to enjoy myself but it all felt so _wrong_.

Quil was beautiful and he was one of the best friends that I figured I'd ever have but that's all that him and I could be, friends.

Normally when I've experienced a bad kiss I just didn't feel anything. Nothing arises inside me or makes me want to press for more, and that's usually when I know the relationship won't go farther. But with Quil it was more than that. Kissing him erupted a fire within me that was full of hatred and unhappiness. It wasn't until I felt like I was going to be sick that I finally pushed him away, gasping for air and coughing.

I could feel my face mangled into confusion and I felt myself relax a little when I caught wind of his face, glad that he hadn't liked it either. We stood like that for what felt like hours before he finally broke the tension. "That was…"

"Yeah," I agreed.

"We shouldn't ever – "

"Yeah," I repeated. That's when the conversation stopped. An awkward silence loomed over us and I couldn't help but think of how strange that was. I'd known Quil for three-quarters of a year and I hadn't experience one awkward encounter with him until then.

But that was a little less than three months ago and Quil's promises had faded away just like Embry's and Jacob's had. As if things couldn't have gotten any more fucked up, Leah and Seth joined them too. I could have expected that kind of bullshit from the guys, but Leah? It just didn't add up. She hated Sam more than any of us combined but that didn't stop her from following him and the rest of the disciples around La Push every day. They were probably running happily through the forests of La Push with the Sam and the disciples right now and I was sitting at lunch, scowling at the food in front of me.

"Are you going to eat, Adrienne?" Edward's melodic voice woke me from my daydream. I couldn't help the scowl that formed on my face. He'd been paying extra attention to my eating habits lately and it had been exceptionally annoying.

So I'd missed a few meals here and there but it was hard to eat when you were depressed all of the time. Cheerleading season was over which meant I didn't have a sport to keep my mind busy and I think my mom was going to kill me if I reorganized the kitchen cabinets anymore.

The Cullen's had moved back in the middle of March and Bella was completely thrilled, although I could tell that she missed Jacob sometimes but don't we all. The two of us had bonded slightly over our hatred for Sam Uley when Jacob stopped talking to us but things quickly changed because Jacob actually started talking to her again.

I tried not to be jealous and bitter about it but I usually was anyways.

Bella was looking at me sympathetically again, just like she usually did and I groaned internally. I hated being pitied more than I hated pitying myself.

It just wasn't fair for all of this shit to happen to me.

Don't get me wrong, I completely understood that there were millions of people in the world that had it harder than me and I honestly wasn't anything close to how Bella had been once Edward had left, but the only reason I even tried to do things anymore was because it was a distraction from the aching pain in my chest.

Every once in a while it would hit me harder than usual but I would push it aside like everything else and get on with my life. The chair next to me pulled out and I felt a sloppy kiss hit my cheek and I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

Tyler Crowley, my ultimate distraction. He was in Bella's grade and he was naturally one of the nicest people that I'd ever met in my entire life but he was one hundred percent boring. Part of me knew that it wasn't okay for me to string him along like I was but the other more selfish part of me didn't care as long as he'd let me escape my pain for a few hours at a time.

We never went passed third base, much to his dismay, but the small amount helped. He was also good at just hugging me and he would only complain if his arm fell asleep.

He was already immersed in a conversation with Ben and Mike about the newest action film that was coming out and I thanked whatever being I should be thanking that he wasn't paying attention to me because today had been one of my worse days.

I'd seen the bastard leaning up against his black motorcycle as soon as the bus pulled into the parking lot that morning and it took every ounce of self-control that I had not to run up and punch him in the face.

I hadn't seen Jacob since the beginning of February and somehow he'd been able to grow even more. He'd gotten taller and he chopped his beautiful hair all off and was now sporting a buzz cut. He barely looked like himself anymore and the thought made me sick to my stomach.

The anger pushed aside the queasiness though and I marched right up to him with more confidence than I ever thought I'd need. Part of me hoped that he was here to see me and to beg me to be his friend again.

But the look on his face when his eyes caught mine told a completely different story. He was here for Bella and I should have known.

"Adrienne," he breathed quietly.

I didn't say anything but I glared full force. "Oh hey, Jacob," I spat at him. "Long time no see."

His eyes darted to the ground, the people passing by, and the cars in the parking lot. He looked everywhere but at me and it was really starting to piss me off.

I could tell from the look on his face that he was trying to figure out which words would be the best to use in this situation and I waited impatiently. I momentarily feared that this stupid scowl would become a permanent fixture on my face but then Jacob started talking.

"I've missed you, Adrienne," his voice was soft and I wanted to break down right there and tell him that I missed him, too, but I couldn't do that and least of all not right now.

"Fuck you, Jake," I growled at him and I knew that I'd taken him by surprise. Flipping through the memories in my mind, I couldn't remember a time that any of the guys had seen me angry, mostly because I was a generally positive person.

But when your best friends decide to basically suck the life out of you it sort of changes the way you look at things.

It looked like he was about to say something but I intercepted and a whirlwind of emotions dumped all over Jacob in the middle of the school sidewalk, where Jacob's motorcycle was parked, illegally might I add. "You can't just ignore me for three god damn months and then say that! All I can figure is that Sam has gotten you all brainwashed and he's going to eventually take over the world or something because the friends that I knew would have never left me alone like they did." I was inches from his face and he cowered back slightly.

"It's not like that, honestly," he pleaded with me.

I snorted at him. "Okay, then enlighten me, Jacob."

He hesitated and I felt like spitting in his face.

"Embry still loves you, it's just complicated right now," Jacob's voice sounded pain and it was almost enough for me to back off. Almost. "He about killed Quil for kissing you."

My cheeks burned at this conclusion and I looked away. "Embry doesn't get a say in who I should or shouldn't kiss anymore. He gave up that right three months ago."

Jacob's eyes softened and I could feel that the dam inside of me was about to break. I couldn't handle this and my mind was racing. Fuck Jacob for telling me this bullshit. Fuck Embry for even trying to lay a hand on Quil. Fuck Quil for even bringing it up.

"Hello, Adrienne," a melodic voice rang from beside us. Both Jacob and I turned our heads at the exact same moment coming face to face with Bella and Edward. "Jacob."

I didn't miss the difference in his tone as he went from my name to Jacob's. It was resentment and hatred, mixed with the tiniest bit of jealousy?

"I should go," I muttered, backing up slowly.

"Wait, Adrienne –" Jacob started but I was already halfway up the steps and ready for this stupid day to be over.

I thought more and more of our conversation in the parking lot as the day went on and something had finally occurred to me. Jacob didn't run away when I'd confronted him, instead he'd actually had a conversation with me that didn't involve him saying that we couldn't be friends.

Those thoughts are what led me to the small bus stop just passed the school, waiting for the three o'clock bus that would gladly take me to La Push so I could speak to everybody in person. No matter how nervous I felt, or how much I might get my heart broken, I knew that it was the last thing that I could do right now.

At least it wouldn't hurt to try. Hopefully.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 – Adrienne  
May 2010 PART TWO**

"Go home, Adrienne," Jacob's rough voice came from behind Sam and I felt the heat under my skin boil.

"Fuck off, Jacob," I snapped at him and I noticed his fists tighten at my words but I didn't care. I was _pissed_. Sam had stopped me before I even made it to the sidewalk of Emily Young's house and he was so huge that I could only see Jacob peeking out from behind him.

In any other circumstance I would have been intimidated by him. His gaze fell hard onto me and I felt like his eyes were piercing into my soul but all that I wanted to do was punch him.

"You shouldn't be here," Sam's voice was extremely stern and I vaguely remembered Leah saying that he was only three years older than her but he looked to be about 30.

I stared at him for a moment and I could tell that he thought I was going to turn around but Sam Uley didn't know me at all. I was a fighter and I didn't care whatsoever how rude he thought I was being. I brushed passed him in a swift movement which caught him off guard and I was face to face with five people.

The first thing that I noticed was that Leah cut her hair. Rather than the long beautiful waves that fell down her back, she was sporting a jagged pixie cut. It framed her face well and I felt a small pang of jealousy course through me at the idea of her deciding to chop off all of her hair without talking to me first. She was in a black tank top and short khaki shorts, with no shoes on her feet.

In fact, none of them were wearing shoes and I found that peculiar but I pushed the thought aside.

Leah's face was pulled into a scowl but her eyes were full of hurt and sadness. She didn't want to be here, that much I could tell, yet here she was standing right in front of Emily's house. Emily – the person that had hurt her even more than Sam had simply because they were _best friends_. They'd spent hours as children discussing how their weddings would be, the two of them as each other's bridesmaids, but Leah never thought that it meant she'd have to watch Emily and her ex-boyfriend say their vows.

Next in line were the two that I'd known as Paul and Jared. One of them was glaring menacingly at me and I decided to move right on down the line.

Quil's lips were pulled down into a frown and his eyes were sad but he looked away almost immediately. His face had changed just like Jacob's had and that conclusion made me sad. A hard jaw line replaced their innocence and their shoulders had broadened even more.

"I need to talk to Embry," I announced and the one that had been looking at me menacingly snorted loudly.

"He doesn't need to talk to you," he growled at me.

I stared at him for a moment, sizing him up. I bet this one was Paul, the one that Quil had said had a bad temper.

"I don't really give a shit what _you_ think Embry needs," I spat back at him and I saw his eyes blaze but I didn't hold back. "I came here to talk to Embry and that's what I'm gonna fucking do."

Paul's hands trembled wildly and Sam flew passed me. "Paul, calm down," he ordered but Paul didn't seem to care. He continued to tremble and I noticed his body doubling over. Sam and the other one, Jared, started pushing him towards the forest.

Jacob and Quil were in front of me then, their backs facing me in a protective stance. I couldn't see passed them so I tried to get around but before I knew it I was pulled into a tight hug.

 _Leah_. I couldn't help but to hug her back, so many unspoken things being passed between us as I fought tears. "I'm so sorry," she was sobbing into my ear and her body trembled slightly. "You lost so much so fast and I wish that we could explain all of this to you, I really do, but there's nothing we can do about it."

Paul and the others were gone now and Jacob and Quil had turned around to face me and I was suddenly in the middle of the warmest bear hug of my life. I felt myself laugh at the gesture because it had been so long since I'd spoken to any of them but this felt so _right_. It didn't make sense.

My happiness was short lived when I heard the husky voice come from behind me. _Embry_. "Adrienne?"

My body stiffened and I felt cold because all the warmth had disappeared and they were now standing behind me with strange expressions on their faces.

I didn't look at him at first when I turned around for fear of unwanted emotions bursting out.

I started at his feet, which were bare just like the rest of them, and let my eyes slide up his body. Blue jean shorts were resting dangerously low on his hips and I felt my heart speed up as I raked over his perfect stomach. His muscles were so much more defined than before and I idly wondered how it would feel to run my hands over the contours of his chest and around his shoulders but I pushed the thought quickly aside as my eyes locked with his. They were filled with love and adoration and longing and his mouth quirked slightly into a small crooked smile.

Then I let loose.

I turned so I was facing all four of them and I couldn't help the screeching in my voice as I yelled at them with no shame.

"How _dare_ you guys," I yelled at them, my breathing uneven. "Do you have any idea how worried I've been about you guys? Especially you, Leah," I stared right at her and she flinched. "You hate Sam more than anybody in the fucking world and you've been following him around like a puppy and I can tell that you don't want to be here, you can't even lie about that. And Quil, fuck you for breaking your god damn promise! I don't care how awkward that stupid kiss was, you still don't break promises like that!"

I could feel the tears starting to well up but at this point I didn't even care. I wanted them to see how horribly they had affected me. "And Jacob, what the fuck is your problem! You don't talk to me for almost three whole months and then the first thing you say to me is 'I miss you!' Really?! And then you just go on and on about how Embry still fucking loves me when you know damn well that the bastard hasn't even tried to talk to me!"

"And you," I zeroed in on Embry. "You couldn't have come to tell me yourself that you didn't want to be with me anymore? You couldn't have even picked up the god damn phone? No, you give a fucking letter to Quil. We're not in elementary school anymore, Embry, it doesn't work that way. Why don't you just man up and tell it to me straight, right here?"

"It wasn't my choice," he stated simply and I snorted at him.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

He hesitated for a moment and then sighed loudly. "I'll explain everything, I promise," his eyes stayed on me. "Just not here, let's go for a walk on the beach or something." I stared at him dubiously. All of this was too easy. Did he want to take me on the walk so he could turn me down again? Or were they just trying to get rid of me?

"You should go," Leah suggested and I turned to glare at her. "Really, go. It'll be nice to finally be able to talk to you again."

My mind was spinning with unanswered questions as I turned back to Embry, who was smiling impishly. "Okay, let's go," I huffed and his smile turned into a broad grin.

We walked in silence for what seemed like hours and I realized that I'd missed this place. It was only the beginning of May so there was still a strong breeze blowing from being so close to the water but the heat radiating from Embry felt nice. I'd missed that with him, the warmth and protectiveness.

We made it halfway down the beach before I stopped at a bench that was lining the woods, both of us taking seats. I examined the changes in his appearance while he looked out onto the water. He looked much like Jacob and Quil although his features seemed different. He looked aged, like Sam, and when his eyes caught mine I felt liked we'd gone back three months. Back to the first day we kissed and I knew that I had to look away before I did something that I would regret.

"Are you going to say anything?" I asked him, irritation evident in my voice.

He hesitated but began to speak and I sat back on the bench, willing myself to actually listen. "Do you remember those legends we told you at Halloween?"

I smiled at the memory, of course I remembered. We were spread out on the furniture in Embry's basement and we'd been watching Harry Potter all day. Leah and I were snuggled together on the loveseat, Embry and Jacob sitting at opposite ends of the couch, and Quil was on the floor next to Seth. Leah had been put in charge of watching him while her parents went to Port Angeles for a date night.

They had decided to tell me the legends of the Quileute's, each one of them telling me something different. I'd never heard Native American legends before and each word captivated my interest.

I nodded at him to continue. "Well, do you remember the story of Taha Aki?" he asked. I nodded again, wondering where he was going with this.

"Him and some of the others transformed into wolves to protect the tribe, right?" I inquired. "To protect them from cold ones, or vampires."

Embry smiled graciously at me and continued. "What would you say if I told you that the legends were true?"

I stared at him, dumbfounded. "I'd probably tell you that you're crazy," I snapped at him. "What the hell are you getting at, Embry?"

"Just listen to me for a moment, please?" I pressed my lips together in a tight line, crossing my arms across my chest and listening to his words. "I know that it's really hard to believe me right now because I left you for three months, and you have no idea how badly I wanted to talk to you because I couldn't."

"Why not?"

"Sam ordered me not to," he stated simply.

"Oh, so we're all just supposed to listen to Sam now, after all of this time absolutely hating him?"

Embry shook his head furiously. "He's not a bad guy, Adrienne," he said quietly. "I mean he can be annoying, that's for sure, but everything he does is for the safety of the tribe."

"Let me get this straight," my mind was boggled and I could barely follow what he was saying. "You're sticking up for Sam even though he ordered you to stay away from me? Oh and let's not forget the fact that you're actually _listening_ to him. He's had to have brainwashed you, Embry."

"It's not like that."

"Well then enlighten me, Embry. What's it like?"

He was starting to get frustrated with my attitude but I didn't care, he was being ridiculous. "Sam is my alpha."

My mind blanked. What the fuck was that supposed to mean? Then I remembered that Alpha was a term used for wolves and my vision went red. Had he honestly brought me all the way out here to make a stupid joke? I felt the anger course through me and I got up to walk away, fumbling with my cellphone so my mom could come and get me.

"No, wait!" Embry's voice was panicked and he grabbed my wrist hard, pulling me around. "Please, Adrienne, you have to listen to me."

"Why the fuck should I believe a word that you say?" I shouted back at him. "Especially when you're practically spouting nonsense."

"I can show you," he pleaded with me. "As long as you promise not to run away, I'll show you, please."

His eyes were pained and his words cracked slightly as he begged. Tears started to well up in his eyes and my entire body went numb. I suddenly didn't care about the fact that I hadn't spoken to him in three months, I didn't care whether or not he was playing some cruel joke on me, all that I wanted was to comfort him because seeing Embry cry was worse than anything I'd ever experienced before.

I wiped the few tears away from his cheeks and my eyes softened. No matter how different he looked, he was still my Embry. His touch still burned in the best way possible and being this close to his face still made my heart feel like it was about to beat out of my chest.

"Okay," I said weakly, praying on anything that I could trust this man. "Okay, show me."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11 – Adrienne  
June 2010 PART ONE**

I glanced around the room apprehensively, red and white lights flashing in all different directions. Music was playing out of two ten foot speakers by the staircase and a crowd of seniors were dancing in the middle of the living room. I had fought Embry tooth and nail to come to this party, which ultimately ended in me telling him that I was independent and he didn't own me, and now I felt like I didn't even want to be here.

Embry couldn't understand why I would want to be anywhere close to the Cullen's house since I'd learned their secret, and part of me understood his concern, but the other, more dominant part didn't like it when someone told me what to do.

I spotted Bella and Edward by the refreshment table as she watched her classmates dance. She had a worried look across her face and I startled her with my approach, her eyes widening. Embry had told me that Edward could read peoples' thoughts and I silently hoped that my thoughts weren't too judgmental.

"Congratulations!" I yelled over the music. "The party is great! You've really outdone yourself."

She snorted. "This was all Alice."

I realized that I had yet to see her tonight. "Oh yeah, do you know where she is? I haven't talked to her yet."

Not seconds after the words escaped my mouth, she was beside me. Her arm wrapped around my shoulder in a small hug and she grinned at me. Alice's smile was blinding, and I couldn't help but notice the unsettling way the lights shined off of her skin.

I remember Embry mentioning that Alice, "the short bloodsucker," could see visions. It mesmerized me the way that the vampires worked. I'd asked a thousand questions about their lifestyle and the way that their brains worked but Embry didn't know much regarding those traits. All he knew was that they were born to kill humans and the wolves were created to kill vampires. They were natural born enemies.

"You don't think it's too much, do you?" Alice's singsong voice chimed.

I shook my head. "I mean it is a lot," I explained. "But I honestly think it suits you."

She beamed at me and I took pride in that. Alice wasn't very hard to please but there was something about the way she spoke and I loved it. I felt a strange connection to her that I hadn't felt with anybody else, not even Leah, and it surprised me. I suddenly found myself pondering the idea of becoming better friends with her, but then the harsh truth came slamming down. She was a vampire, and there was some part of her that wanted to drink my blood.

I fought back a shudder before Alice pulled away from me. It wasn't until then that I realized Edward was gone. Alice's face had smoothed out into a blank expression and, when my eyes swept over Bella, I could tell that she was nervous. "What, Alice, what? What did you see?"

I furrowed my eyebrows together at Bella's question before realization flooded through me. _Oh_.

She didn't say anything for a solid minute, just stared off into space while Bella looked like she was about to die. Then, all of the sudden, Alice crinkled her nose up. "Who invited the werewolf?"

I was shocked that she'd said those words in front of me, but then assumed that everyone knew that I was aware of the situation now. Bella's face pulled into a scowl. I searched the room but I didn't see Jacob anywhere.

"Guilty," she grumbled. Hadn't Jacob told her that he was coming? No, probably not. He wasn't good at following through with things like that.

Alice turned her head slightly to the left. "Well, you go take care of that then. I have to talk to Carlisle."

"No, Alice, wait!" Bella called but she was gone. It was almost as if she'd disappeared into thin air. "Damn it!"

Bella caught my eyes and threw me an apologetic smile before turning on her heel and following the steps that Alice had taken. She began pushing through people and I followed her, not wanting to be left alone tonight.

I'd broken things off with Tyler a few days before and I'd been pretty much ignored at school since then. He was ultimately hurt but I played the college excuse up. He'd be going to Tacoma for school next year and I didn't want to get too attached this summer.

"Hey, Bella!" Jacob's voice called. Bella and I turned in the direction his voice came from at the same time, and he was standing at the door with Quil and Embry on either side of him. Embry's eyes landed on me instantly and I swear I could feel my heart stop beating. He was dressed in a plain brown shirt and blue jeans but his appearance never failed to knock the breath out of me.

Jacob and Bella shared a wave across the room from each other and then Bella was off, pushing through two people that were dancing behind her. Jacob ran after her while Quil and Embry immediately came to my side, Embry's arm wrapping protectively around my shoulders.

They were both tense, their muscles frigid, and their gazes darted haphazardly around the room. I rolled my eyes and unsuccessfully tried to shrug Embry's arm off of me.

"What are you doing here?" I snapped at the two of them. I hated it when Embry's overprotective side decided to show, which had happened often lately, because I didn't need protected. My mother had raised me to be independent and take care of myself and having a werewolf smother me just happened to piss me off.

"Sam wanted us to back up Jacob," Quil spoke instead of Embry. I rolled my eyes. I understood the desire to protect the people of La Push, and even the people of Forks, but the Cullen's had lived for almost a hundred years, some of them for longer, and they hadn't hurt anybody yet. Least of all a werewolf.

As much as the idea of the Cullen's being vampires frightened me, it also seemed to intrigue me as well, Alice especially. Embry had told me that Bella had planned to be turned into a vampire after graduation. I pondered over the idea of it in my head and found that I disagreed with her decision. While it was obvious that she was over-the-moon in love with Edward, she was giving up so much more to be with him.

Her family, her friends, her _life_. Once you're a vampire there is no going back, and you're completely frozen in the same body forever. Bella could never grow old with Edward by her side, she could never have children and watch them grow, and she could never experience the joy of drinking on her 21st birthday or feel totally bummed, but blessed, about turning 30.

But I suppose that's why it was her choice and not mine. I wanted all of those things and more. Vampirism was just not for me.

"I also didn't want you to be attending this party unprotected," Embry's voice was in my ear and I shivered, feeling his hot breath on my neck. "I should have been here sooner."

I turned to glare at him and noticed that his nose was wrinkled in disgust. "Embry Call," I scolded him, shoving him away from me with full force. He moved backwards, a startled expression on his face. "Stop make that face, it's rude."

Quil grunted. "It smells terrible in here."

"Well get over it," I ordered. Embry's face smoothed out, but I could tell by the intense look on his face that he was trying not to breath.

I let out an exaggerated sigh and pulled the two of them through the crowd with me, searching for Jacob and Bella. When I finally found them, Bella was examining a bracelet on her wrist, which I assumed was Jacob's present to her, with a slight smile. Jacob's smile was wide and bright but turned serious as their conversation elaborated.

"The psychic saw something," Jacob stated. We were right next to them now, Embry and Quil on Jacob's flanks again. I stood directly between Jacob and Bella, leaning more toward Bella's side. Her eyes scanned over our faces for a split-second, and then she returned her focus back to Jacob.

"Yes, just when you showed up," Bella confirmed.

"Is this about the bloodsucker in your room?" Jacob's voice dropped an octave as he said the words, careful not to entice any unwanted eavesdroppers.

"It's related," Bella seemed unsure of what to say in front of us and Jacob could tell.

"You know something you're not tell me…something big," I felt a sense of pride at the fact that Jacob could read her so easily. He knew just what she was thinking most of the time just by her facial expressions.

I could see clearly that Edward and Bella were in love with each other, and I personally felt that Edward was a good guy for her, but there was still a part of me that hoped she'd pick Jacob. He was one of my best friends and I had no doubt in my mind that he'd treat her perfectly, and she'd have a life with him.

Bella claimed to have no feelings for Jacob, but they were written clearly on her face. The love just wasn't enough.

"Yes," she sighed.

Jacob turned to Embry and Quil, making sure he had their full attention, and then he turned back to Bella. "Explain."

"Jacob, I don't know everything," she sounded exasperated. I couldn't help but feel bad for her, they'd pushed her into a corner.

"What you _do_ know, then," Jacob challenged.

The three boys folded their arms across their chests at the same time and I couldn't help the giggle that came out of my mouth. They probably would have looked scary to anybody else but I just found the synchronization cute.

Bella's posture changed. "Alice!" she half-yelled toward the stairs. I couldn't see because the boys were blocking my view, but it took almost no time before Alice was on the other side of Bella.

The boys all leaned away then, wary of Alice's close proximity. She snaked her arm around Bella's waist, whispering something into her ear.

"Er, Jake, Adrienne," she nodded at the two of us. "I'll see you later."

They started to exit the way that Alice had come but Jacob's arm suddenly blocked their path. "Hey, not so fast."

If looks could kill, Jacob would have died on the spot. Alice was glaring at him with so much vigor that I half expected him to cry out in pain. "Excuse me?" her regularly sing-song voice was now somehow menacing.

"Tell us what's going on," Jacob's voice was a growl and before anybody had time to think, a boy appeared on the other side of Jacob's arm. I couldn't see him very well but I was almost certain that it was Alice's boyfriend, Jasper. I'd never met him before, because he graduated the year before, but Alice talked about him a few times at lunch.

Jacob dropped his arm but stood firm with Alice. "We have a right to know," he argued. His expression was just as terrifying as Alice's and I felt confused at the sudden change of pace.

Jasper stepped in between Alice and Jacob and I noticed Embry's eyes flicker to me. His hand twitched slightly and I knew exactly what he was thinking. I shook my head forcefully and his eyes burned with anger.

I felt myself sigh heavily as Jasper glared at Jacob who glared at Alice.

"Hey, hey," Bella interjected at the same time that I decided to speak up.

"Come on, guys," I'd started.

I smirked at Bella and she gave me a light smile, relieving a small amount of my tension, but her eyes were still filled with worry. Everybody's expression was still held the same when Bella spoke up again.

"This is a party, remember?"

Nobody moved an inch and I tried to help her out. "Yeah, let's all just take a step back," I pulled lightly on Jacob's trembling hand but he swatted me away, a growl escaping his lips. I hadn't realized then that it had been towards me.

It all happened sort of fast then.

Embry pushed me behind him and was immediately in Jacob's face, centimeters from it. "Watch it," he growled, his chest bumping Jacob's shoulder. I'd seen Embry pissed off a dozen times, but this anger was startling. Quil pushed between the two of them then, a growl escaping his mouth as well.

"Let's just cool it," Quil ordered, his voice forceful. In wolf terms, he really didn't have any power over Jacob and Embry, but I couldn't help but think that at least one of them had their head on straight right now. "We didn't come here for a fight, especially not between each other."

I pushed Embry with every bit of force I had, a strange fire burning through me. He barely moved an inch but his eyes fell to mine. "God damn it, Embry," my voice was low and my expression incredulous. "Would you stop protecting me for one second so we can figure out what's going on with Bella?"

His face softened only slightly at my words and I knew that we had an understanding. Alice spoke then, the song back in her voice. "It's okay, Jasper. Jacob actually has a point."

Jasper didn't move but Bella interjected. "What did you see, Alice?"

Alice eyed the wolves, including me, before turning to Bella. "The decisions been made." _What decision?_

"You're going to Seattle?" Bella asked impatiently. _What the hell is in Seattle?_

"No."

Bella's face was suddenly colorless, her eyes clouding over almost like Alice's had when she'd seen the vision. "They're coming here," her voice was hoarse when she spoke.

I noticed then that all the wolves' hands were trembling slightly and I reached out absentmindedly to grab Embry's. I also reached over and took a firm hold on Quil's, but I didn't dare go near Jacob's again. Embry's tremors stopped almost immediately, but it took a few seconds for Quil.

"Yes," Alice answered.

"To Forks."

"Yes."

"For?"

There was a question connected to that word that the wolves didn't seem to know, but Alice nodded, replying. "One carried your red shirt."

Bella's face got lighter, if that was even possible, and she looked like she was going to pass out.

I felt myself get anxious as they discussed whatever was happening in front of us, without telling us what exactly it was.

Jasper spoke then, his voice melodic but Southern. "We can't let them come that far. There aren't enough of us to protect the town." I let myself examine Jasper, trying to focus on something other than whatever it was they were talking about. He had blond hair and his eyes were black as night. He was fairly taller than Alice but he didn't hold a candle to Jacob. Still, somehow, Jasper seemed scarier to me.

"I know," Alice agreed. "But it doesn't matter where we stop them. There still won't be enough of us, and some of them will come here to search."

"No!" Bella's voice was a whisper, but I could tell from the look on her face that she'd felt more like screaming. "I have to go, I have to get away from here."

"That won't help. It's not like we're dealing with a tracker. They'll still come looking here first."

"Then I have to go meet them!" Bella argued. "If they find what they're looking for, maybe they'll go away and not hurt anyone else!"

Alice's gaze turned to ice at the words. "Bella!" she scolded.

"Hold it," Jacob's voice was almost a _growl,_ and there was so much force to it that I had a hard time not obeying. The hereditary alpha inside him had peeked through just slightly, and I could tell that Embry and Quil had noticed it too. " _What_ is coming?"

Alice turned to Jacob. "Our kind. Lots of them." _Vampires? Coming here?_

"Why?" Jacob demanded.

"For Bella. That's all we know," Alice sounded disappointed at that fact.

"There are too many for you?"

Jasper stiffened, his expression defensive. "We have a few advantages, dog. It will be an even fight."

"Excellent," Alice's mouth turned into a grin and Jacob's face mirrored hers. Not two minutes ago, they had been glaring at each other with all the force of Satan.

"Everything just disappeared, of course," she grumbled. "That's inconvenient, but, all things considered, I'll take it."

"We'll have to coordinate, it won't be easy for us. Still, this is our job more than yours."

Alice shook her head. "I wouldn't go that far, but we need the help. We aren't going to be picky."

Bella's eyebrows furrowed and I could practically see the wheels turning inside her head. At least another human is understanding this mess. "Wait, wait, wait, wait," she was almost seething. "Coordinate?"

Jacob scoffed at her. "You didn't honestly think you were going to keep us out of this?"

"You are staying out of this!"

"Your psychic doesn't seem to think so."

"Alice, tell them no!" she pleaded, her eyes filled with a more intense amount of worry than before. "They'll get killed!"

All of the sudden, the wolves started to laugh and I could feel my face get hot. I didn't like being out of the loop, especially when it was being discussed right in front of me.

"Bella," Alice cooed soothingly. "Separately we all could get killed. Together-"

"It'll be no problem," Jacob interrupted her.

Quil laughed again. "How many?"

"No!" Bella shouted.

Alice ignored her and answered Quil's question. "It changes…twenty-one today, but the numbers are going down."

"Why?" Jacob wondered.

"Long story," Alice said, glancing around the room. "And this isn't the place for it."

"Later tonight?" Jacob suggested.

"Yes," Jasper replied. "We were already planning a strategic meeting. If you're going to fight with us, you'll need some instruction."

Realization hit me then. They were going to fight _twenty-one_ vampires. I felt a wave of nausea wash over me. "No!" I yelled, louder than I'd meant to. The attention turned to me and I felt my face get hot. "You can't fight, one of you could get hurt," I continued my protest. "And I'm not just talking about the wolves." I was looking at Alice as I said this, and her face softened tremendously at my words.

She glided towards me, ignoring the small grumble that came from Embry's chest. We were about the same height, her golden eyes boring into mine. "Jasper knows how to fight newborns," she assured me. "He'll teach everybody how to fight."

 _Newborns?_

"What's a _newborn_?" I questioned. Alice's eyes danced over the crowd that I could feel behind me.

"They're vampires that have been recently changed," she explained in a whisper. It seemed as though she was struggling with the words as she said them. "They're typically stronger than aged vampires because they still have their own blood in their veins for a short period."

 _Oh._

My head spun at this overload of information. I felt more overwhelmed today than I had the day that Embry explained his reasoning for turning into a giant wolf every day. I felt like I needed to sit down. I went over the information in my head.

Twenty-one newborn vampires were coming to Forks because they wanted Bella, and Jacob had just decided that the wolves would fight alongside the Cullen's. What the hell.

I felt Embry's hand run down my back in a soothing manner and I blushed at the feeling. Even when I was worried about all the people that I cared about getting killed in a fight, he could still manage to get my heart racing with a simple touch.

Alice's eyes flicked to Embry and then to me, something shining in them that I didn't understand. Before I knew it, the boys were back in battle mode. "This will be odd," Jasper mused. "I never considered working together. This has to be a first."

"No doubt about that," Jacob nodded and he started to back away slightly. "We've got to get back to Sam. What time?"

"What's too late for you?"

I saw Quil and Jacob roll their eyes. "What time?"

"Three o'clock?" Jasper suggested.

"Where?"

"About ten miles due north of the Hoh Forest ranger station. Come at it from the west and you'll be able to follow our scent in."

Quil nodded, a smile creeping onto his face.

"We'll be there," Jacob replied, his tone all business.

The two of them turned to leave, and I felt Embry twitch at my side.

"Wait, Jake!" Bella yelled.

I didn't hear the rest of their conversation as I turned my focus to Embry. "Do you really have to do this?" I asked him solemnly.

His hand came up to rest on my cheek, a smile coming across his face that should be illegal. "Don't worry, Adrienne," he whispered. "It's what I was born for."

Embry's eyes darted to the door where Quil and Jacob had just disappeared. "I have to go," his voice was quiet. "Do you have a ride home?"

I glanced over at Bella, whose worried expression told me that she was in no condition to drive. My mom and Dave were in Port Angeles for a date night and I knew that they wouldn't be in town now.

"I'll get her home safely," Alice chimed in, suddenly standing directly in front of us. Embry stiffened at the proximity but Alice seemed to ignore it.

"Embry, come on," I shoved at his chest lightly and his eyes met mine. "You can trust the Cullen's, you know that."

"I don't trust vampires," he hissed.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, stop it," I complained. "This isn't about what you trust, Embry. _I_ trust her and she says she'll take me home. You know Sam will be pissed if you keep him waiting."

He seemed to fighting with himself, trying to decide what to do. I raised an eyebrow, daring him to challenge me. He let out a sigh of defeat and pulled me into a warm hug. "I'll talk to you as soon as I can," he whispered, and then I saw him push through the crowd of people and run out the door.

Alice squealed lightly, her cold arms wrapping around me. It was a deep contrast from the warmth that I was used to but I welcomed it in this sweaty crowd. It still amazed me with how at peace I was around Alice, and it seemed to amaze Jasper too as he eyed me suspiciously.

This would be a long night.

 **AN: I don't own Twilight.**

 **Thank you guys for the reviews. I know it took me a little longer for this chapter, but I promise I'm still working on this. –J.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12 – Embry  
June 2010 PART TWO**

 _I can't believe you left her with the vampires,_ Quil's words hit me as soon as I phased and I growled angrily at him.

 _You know Adrienne just as well as I do,_ I pointed out. _Do you really think that she'd listen to a word I freaking said?_

If I knew anything about Adrienne, it was that she was independent. She didn't like being looked after, especially not by the asshole that had left her for three months. I winced at the thought, remembering her tear-streaked face when she yelled at me the day at Sam and Emily's. When her eyes connected with mine, everything else in the world stopped.

She was it for me.

Of course, I'd known that all along. Adrienne and I were a perfect match. We had been since the day I met her. Every touch and every kiss was like electricity before us and that was before the Quileute magic set fire. I could only imagine what it would feel like to hold her again. To let my fingers tangle in her hair and taste her neck again.

 _Can you not?_ Jacob asked, disgust shooting through my mind from him.

I rolled my eyes as our feet pounded through the leaves making our way back to La Push.

I'd tried to kiss her that day on the beach after I'd phased in front of her. She backed away angrily and I'd never felt so rejected before. She told me that she had a boyfriend and that he was really good for her.

I wanted to tell her that it was impossible. I was made to be her perfect match. But I didn't want to scare her away again, so I'd kept the imprinting stories to myself.

 _You know you're gonna have to tell her sooner or later, right?_ Quil pressured me again. I snapped at his tail that was right in front of me and he pushed harder off the ground.

 _I'll tell her when she's ready to know._

We had finally reached the tree line to Sam's backyard and we all three phased, changing back into our clothes.

"You know that she's not going to appreciate you deciding when she's ready," Jacob sided with Quil as we entered the back yard.

"Come on, guys," I groaned. "Can you just lay off for one night?"

Suddenly the smell of Emily's homemade lasagna hit my nose and all three of us ran through the back door, startling Emily in the process. She swatted at each of us with a wooden spoon but she only managed to make a connection with Quil, who feigned a wince for her benefit. "You three scared me half to death," she scolded.

I looked over at her sheepishly. "Sorry Em, but we smelled the lasagna."

She grinned, adoring the cooking compliments, and handed plates to the three of us. "It's on the table."

Nobody spoke while we ate, filling our stomachs with the best damn lasagna that any of us had ever had. Emily had a knack for cooking everything to perfection and we all adored her for it.

"Is Sam around?" Jacob asked when he stood to get seconds.

She nodded. "I sent him to the store for milk and eggs so I can make brownies tonight." My stomach growled at the mention of brownies and she laughed lightly. "What do you guys need him for?"

"There's a group of vampires coming for Bella," Quil walked over to get seconds as well. "We wanna talk to Sam about helping the Cullen's out."

I could practically feel the anxiety radiate off of Emily at the idea of us – or rather, Sam – fighting a group of vampires.

"They've agreed to help us out. Show us technique or something," Jacob grumbled.

"Like we need it," Quil's voice was full of arrogance.

Emily reached over and smacked Quil with the spoon again. "Don't be so cocky," she chastised.

Just then Sam trudged through the front door, a look of anger on his face as he realized that we were here. Emily snatched the grocery bags from his hands and shooed us outside so we could talk. She knew, as we all did, that he wouldn't want to worry Emily more than she already was.

"There's something we need to discuss," Jacob's gruff voice was so orderly it surprised me.

Sam raised his eyebrows. "This couldn't have waited until tomorrow?"

Jacob shook his head. "Let's just phase so you can see for yourself."

Each of us went to separate areas of the forest to strip our pants. I felt my bones pull apart, adjusting to the new body, and trotted to where the others were. We showed Sam the conversation at the Cullen's party and the idea of a meeting to learn techniques.

 _Do they think that we don't know how to fight?_

 _I don't know, but learning to fight their kind could help us in the long run_ , Jacob pointed out.

Sam pondered the idea for a moment. The thought of working alongside the Cullen's made him shudder, but it was to protect the people of Forks and La Push, and any other people that the bloodsuckers may kill.

 _And Bella,_ Jacob interjected. The thought was quiet but it was still there.

We all knew that Sam didn't necessarily like Bella. Not because she was dating a bloodsucker, but more because she went back to him. He's the one that found her after Edward had left, cold and miserable on the forest floor, and he felt somehow betrayed that she went back to him after that incident.

But the ultimate truth was that nobody hated the Cullen's as much as Sam. Not even Paul.

Once the Cullen's returned, the Quileute gene kicked in and Sam was the first of us to phase. He was alone, scared to death that he'd gone insane. Then after he met Emily, he had to break Leah's heart into a thousand tiny pieces and that killed him.

Now thinking about it, there may be one person who hates the Cullen's more than Sam.

Leah.

Sam and Emily are good together, in ways that you wouldn't necessarily imagine. She loves to play housewife, and with all of the duties that Sam is faced with as alpha it helps out. She was also able to forgive him for hurting her two years ago, no matter how scarred her face was.

But Leah made everyone miserable, and she did it entirely on purpose. She's been better since Adrienne learned about us but she still likes to torture everyone with the intimate moments between her and Sam. She also tended to bring up my lack of father just to piss everybody off and get us on edge. The only good thing that came out of Leah phasing, and this is coming from her own mind, is that she at least knows why Sam left her.

But she also knows that Sam would never want to be with her again and it kills her inside.

A deep howl erupted from Sam's mouth and not before long, more thoughts started swirling in my head. I got a vivid image of Kim and Jared getting it on and groaned in unison with Jacob and Quil.

 _Can't anyone get some fucking sleep around here?_ Paul's groggy voice entered my head.

I snorted. No.

There was little disapproval at the idea of fighting some leeches, the only ones that were slightly nervous were Brady and Collin. They'd only been part of the pack for a few weeks now, and they would need all the training they could get.

…

Something didn't feel right as we approached the Cullen's, my eyes gazing over each of the bloodsuckers. I saw her in Leah's mind, standing right next to Bella Swan.

I could feel the fury of Leah and Quil, and double with the emotions that I felt I let a growl rip through the air. I saw in the minds of the pack that each of the leeches braced themselves, as did we, but I was only focused on one thing.

Adrienne.

 _What the hell was she doing here?_

 _Guess she's a stupid leech lover too,_ Paul snapped. I growled again, this time towards him, and Jacob who was standing on his flank nipped at his shoulder.

Paul turned to retaliate but stopped as soon as Sam's voice filled our heads.

 _ENOUGH!_

Paul whined slightly at the force of the junction but got quiet.

My mind still swirled at the idea of Adrienne being surrounded by seven bloodsuckers before we'd gotten here. I felt the urge to run over and snatch her up but I knew that it would only make matters worse right now. If a fight erupted in front of her I would never forgive myself.

"Embry," Adrienne's voice was quiet, tired. She was looking all around, probably unable to see us. "I begged Alice to come. It's not their fault."

She could have said no.

"She threatened to go trapsing through the woods near the Hoh Rainforest by herself if I didn't agree," Alice snapped at me. "I figured that you'd like the latter."

A few conjured images of Adrienne in the woods on her own ran across my mind from other pack mates and I whimpered slightly. My eyes focused on her again and I was mesmerized at how beautiful she was. She'd changed into a pair of jeans and a green blouse.

The head of the coven, the doctor, stepped forward slowly. "Welcome," he smiled slightly as his eyes locked with each and every one of us. Random comments went through each mind at the connection, most of which rude, except for Sam's. He felt that it was respectful.

"Thank you," Edward echoed Sam's thoughts which was strange for us to hear. "We will watch and listen, but no more. That is the most we can ask of our self-control."

"That is more than enough," Carlisle answered. "My son Jasper has experience in this area. He will teach us how they fight, how they are to be defeated. I'm sure you can apply this to your own hunting style."

Confusion struck through the pack.

Edward translated again. "They are different from you?"

"They are all very new – only months old to this life. Children, in a way. They will have no skill or strategy, only brute strength. Tonight their numbers stand at twenty. Ten for us, ten for you – it shouldn't be difficult. The numbers may go down. The new ones fight amongst themselves."

 _At least we'll get to kill some bloodsuckers,_ Leah's voice growled.

 _I can't wait to rip them to fucking shreds,_ agreed Paul.

 _We can take them all,_ Jared challenged.

"We are willing to take more than our share, if necessary," Edward said evenly.

Carlisle smiled widely at us now, appreciation filling his voice. "We'll see how it plays out."

 _When are they coming?_ I asked. Sam had the same question and Edward spoke for us.

"They'll come across the mountains in four days, in the late morning. As they approach, Alice will help us intercept their path," Carlisle explained.

"Thank you for the information. We will watch."

A few seconds went by before the leech that Carlisle referred to as Jasper stepped forward and began his lesson. He ignored the wolves for the most part, keeping more of his focus on the vampires. My eyes wandered to Adrienne during the lesson as she watched the vampires blur around each other in their fights.

He fought the big one first, teaching us how to meneuver so we could avoid the easy kill. He explained that Emmett relied very largely on his strength in a fight, which resembled a newborn.

"Again," the big one yelled in an aggrivated tone after Jasper's teeth almost made contact with his neck.

"It's my turn," Edward interjected.

Jasper shook his head at them. "In a minute, I want to show Bella and Adrienne something first."

I felt the hair rise on my spine at those words, holding back a low growl, at the idea of him coming anywhere near Adrienne in a fight. But he didn't move towards them. Instead, he reached for Alice.

"I know you both worry about her," Jasper said. "I want to show you why that's not necessary."

He sprang forward to capture Alice, but she was able to dance around him, her eyes closed. This went on for several moments before Jasper was standing in the clearing alone, Alice falling right onto his back, placing her lips near his throat. "Gotcha," she giggled.

Jasper shook his head but I didn't miss the beam that he gave her. He was proud of her. I knew that feeling well, to feel an overwhelming amount of satisfaction at the idea that the woman you're in love with can hold her own. "You truly are one frightening little monster."

 _We'll have to watch out for her if we ever…_ Jared's voice trailed off as he remembered Edward's ability. A small murmur passed over the pack.

 _She can't see passed us,_ Jacob reminded us, and everybody settled down.

The rest of the morning passed slowly, each of us focusing in on the fights.

Edward, who also had an upper hand, fought Jasper next. It was a never-ending circle of slick moves back and forth. Jasper was good with skill, but Edward knew his every move before he made it and he was faster.

He explained to the others how to hold the fight and which techniques to use and everybody seemed intrigued, even most of my pack mates.

Questions were asked and answered about the newborns and the army. It was announced that Alice will be watching their decisions, making sure that nobody changes their tracks.

Finally, at the beginning of sunrise, the lesson ended and the bloodsuckers gave us permission to sniff each of them. I groaned inwardly at the idea of having to willingly sniff the sickly vampire stench but Seth spoke up.

 _At least we won't accidentally hurt a Cullen._

Paul snorted in his mind. _Yeah, that'd be a damn shame._

 _That would be against the treaty,_ Sam growled, and Paul shut up.

Each of them smelled the same, but different. The only one that wasn't exceptionally repulsing was Alice and I wondered why. Was it because she spent time with Adrienne? Edward had spent time with her as well and he'd smelled awful.

After I was finished with gathering the Cullen's scents, I trotted over to Adrienne and she smiled widely at my approach. She reached her small hand up, running it carefully through the fur and I closed my eyes at the touch. Even in wolf form her touch was remarkable.

"The plan was that I'd leave with you, y'know," she said quietly when I nudged her with my nose. I whined at that realization.

Jacob had come over to visit with Bella and we watched him lick her face.

"Ew! Gross, Jake!" Bella shrieked.

I looked back to Adrienne and her eyes grew wide. "Embry, don't you dare," she commanded. I lolled my tongue out, inching closer to her face, but I stopped short and nuzzled her neck affectionately.

I could hear Sam's disapproval at the proximity of my wolf form with my imprint but I shrugged it off. _Can I bring her with us?_ I asked him.

 _No,_ he commanded. I twitched at the order.

 _But she'll be alone with the bloodsuckers if not,_ Quil pleaded for me. Unwanted images of Adrienne drained of life, lying on the green forest clouded my mind and I winced and whimpered, and then growled at Leah for the image.

 _Sorry!_ A wince came from her as well at the thought of Adrienne dead.

 _Okay, fine,_ Sam lifted the order. It was easier than I thought to get him to lift it, but then again he knew the overwhelming need to protect the imprint. I hooted excitedly and nuzzled her neck again. She laughed lightly, her hands resting on my nose. The flecks of brown and green in her eyes were shining as she stared at me, a smile evident on her lips.

Jacob had phased back to his human self and he was now discussing strategy with Bella and Edward. I glanced over my shoulder to see Quil waiting anxiously at the tree line. He whined, inching towards the forest.

I turned around a small amount and leaned down, my back facing Adrienne. She looked at me like I was crazy. "What the heck are you doing?"

I whimpered again, unsure of how to explain it to her. I considered running to the forest and phasing but I didn't want to leave her alone. "He wants you to go with him," Alice was standing next to Adrienne now, a smile on her lips. "You just disappeared in my head."

Adrienne's eyes grew wide but she grinned happily. "So I'm basically supposed to ride you like a horse?" I growled playfully at her comparison and she laughed. She glanced back to Alice when she spoke next. "Can you, um, help me up?"

Alice didn't say anything, instead she lifted Adrienne onto my back with ease. "Thank you for coming to the party, Adrienne," she said formally.

I felt Adrienne's slim arms wrap around my neck as far as she could, grasping onto the fur tightly. "I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

Alice grinned happily. "I'll see you soon," she winked at us before skipping to the conversation a few feet away from us.

Jacob looked over at me. "I'll see you tomorrow for patrol, brother," he said. I nodded and Adrienne waved, before trotting off into the forest with the love of my life on my back.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13 – Adrienne  
June 2010 PART THREE**

My eyes scanned over the living room of sleeping bags that we had piled up the night before. Collin and Brady were the only ones that were still asleep, low snores coming from their mouths. I couldn't help but feel a little sad for the two of them, as they had to lose their innocence so soon. They were only thirteen and they were now dedicated to a life of never getting enough sleep and fighting vampires when the time came.

Of course, Sam had given them explicit instructions that they were to protect the tribe today. They were instructed to stay around the beach, but not go too far from Emily's.

The sweet smell of chocolate chip pancakes hit my nose and I was suddenly in a frenzy. If there was anything about Emily Young that I particularly loved, it was definitely her cooking. Being best friends with Leah had sort of given me an obligation to hate Emily but it was almost impossible, even Leah had trouble with it.

I hadn't believed them when they said that imprinting was sort of like love at first sight, of course I'm not sure why I don't believe the Quileute's anymore. It's pretty much a fact that, with them, anything is possible.

The way that Emily had explained it was that she and Sam were physically, emotionally, and mentally _made for each other_. Of course, the imprint just made the wolf be anything that the imprintee needed, whether it be a brother, a friend, or even a lover. It's always ended with love, of course, at least in what we've seen.

Embry swears he's seen inside Quil's mind and there are absolutely no impure thoughts of Claire at all, which is good because Emily would probably murder him. Mostly he just adores her and wants to give her anything in the world that she wants. Like right now, for her birthday she wants a pony, and Quil's trying to figure that one out.

Emily was piling the pancakes onto a plate while Kim gave her a look of pure astonishment. "Emily, how are we supposed to eat all of those?"

"Oh," Emily blushed lightly. "Sorry, I'm used to cooking for the guys."

She placed the plates in the middle of the table and Kim and I dug in. Maya was sitting comfortably in the chair beside me, her little hands folded in her lap. She was easily one of the best-behaved six year olds that I'd ever met. Claire, on the other hand, was banging her hands on the high chair in excitement for the pancakes.

The two of them reminded me constantly of my sister, Zoey, and I. Zoey was three years older than I was and she had always been the one that sat still for the pictures while I was typically screaming. She had always been more responsible while I'd taken a reckless route through life. But regardless of the differences between us, we were best friends.

Kim's quiet voice broke me from my thoughts. "So what exactly is going on between you and Embry?" She shoved another piece of pancake in her mouth after she asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked her. She smiled thoughtfully.

"I mean," she explained. "You two seemed pretty cozy last night. Are you interested in dating him again?"

He had stayed at Emily's until the very last second before he had to leave for the overnight stay wherever the battle was going to be. We didn't really talk much but his arms were secured around me the entire time, almost as if he wasn't ready to let go. My heart sped up each time he moved or brushed a different part of my body. Especially when his lips landed carefully at my forehead every so often.

"There's nothing going on between us," I shrugged her question off. "He's just protective."

I noticed Emily roll her eyes at my response, a knowing smile on her face. "Adrienne, everybody can see the way he looks at you," she pressed. "I think he's just afraid of pushing you too far."

"You should have seen how miserable he was during those months without you," Kim added, snatching another pancake for her plate. "He would have done anything to talk to you about everything. Sam's injunction just wouldn't allow it."

I'd been told all about those months. Sam had forbade Embry to talk to me because he thought it was too dangerous. Embry had said that he finally gave in because he realized that Embry's head was never screwed on straight in a fight, because he was always thinking about me. It was sweet if you thought about it, but at the same time I still hadn't found it in myself to forgive him.

Those months were brutal and I knew how to hold a grudge. The two of us still spent every moment together as possible, and he still gave me butterflies with just a simple gaze, but I wouldn't let myself get tied up in that again. Mostly for fear that he would imprint, but I knew deep down the real answer.

I was almost positive that he'd imprinted on me.

I never brought it up because I didn't want to seem bummed out if he said no, but it all sort of made sense together in my head. He was able to tell me everything about the legends right after we locked eyes, and he was obsessed with protecting me just as much as the others were about Emily, Kim, and Claire.

As much as his overprotectiveness bothered me, I could still understand it. I'd felt that last night when we said goodbye. He had embraced me tighter than he ever had before, a look of desire and fear in his eyes. I could tell that he wanted to kiss me, but I averted my eyes to break the concentration. As for the worry I saw, I couldn't be sure if he was nervous to fight in the battle, or nervous about leaving me with Brady and Collin as our only protection.

"I may be overstepping my bounds here," Emily had pushed her plate away. Her hand was on the table and her soft brown eyes bore into mine as she spoke. "But all I'm saying is that these boys go out and risk their lives every day for their tribe. Every time I watch Sam leave for patrol I have a horrible feeling in my stomach at the idea of him not coming back. They do this every day, and it would be a damn shame if you spent all this time together holding a grudge rather than letting yourself feel how you do about him. He loves you, Adrienne, and I know you love him too."

I wanted to scream at her. I wanted to tell her that she was in fact overstepping her bounds, and that this was in no way, shape, or form any of her business but I was frozen as her words sank in. I'd never thought of it like that. I knew, somehow, in the back of my mind that he went out to patrol every night to detect any threat of a vampire, but I'd never thought of it as them risking their lives. It's just what they do, and surely one vampire against a bunch of werewolves would withstand, right?

Emily stood up from her seat and began gathering the empty dishes. There was still a huge pile of pancakes that she was most likely leaving for Brady and Collin. Kim looked at me for a moment, her eyes thoughtful, before she made her way into the living room to wake the boys up.

I let my eyes fall on Claire and she grinned happily at me. "Yew lub Unca Em!" She announced. I blushed a deep red and grabbed the box of baby wipes.

"Yes, he's my best friend," I assured her and her smile grew wider. I wiped any stickiness from her hands and mouth when a strange expression came across her face. She looked as though she was thinking about something very hard.

"Yew lub Unca Em like I lub Qwil?" She asked as I lifted her out of the high chair and started to walk to the living room.

"No, Claire," Kim said quietly. "Adrienne loves Embry like I love Jared, or like Emily loves Sam."

I turned to glare at her, everybody knew that Claire couldn't keep something to herself to save her life. She was only two!

"So like mama lubs daddy?" Her little eyebrows pulled down into a confused expression and my heart swelled at how adorable she was.

"That's right, Claire Bear," Kim replied, tickling her stomach softly.

Claire giggled loudly but pushed Kim's hand away. She let out a small sigh, leaning her head against my shoulder. "I lub Qwil," her voice was peaceful, and she was tired. But she had been restless all night, it was almost like she knew that Quil was in danger.

I felt myself become more apprehensive as the day drew on. We had been informed that the fight would start at around nine in the morning and right now it was ten thirty and we were all nervously shifting around, nobody really speaking anymore.

Brady and Collin ate breakfast and headed out to patrol around the borders of La Push. Emily kept herself busy, baking cookies and cleaning every surface in the kitchen, while Kim and I played with the girls.

Maya was typically quiet but as the day progressed she began to open up to the two of us more. She chattered on with us about the books she liked to read and the hobbies she liked. She loved to swim and she wanted to learn how to ride a horse. She also liked a boy at school named Alex, but she thinks that he has cooties so she doesn't talk to him.

The atmosphere was different while we were around a six year old. We had to watch what we said for the most part because she didn't know anything about the wolves or the legends and we were ultimately trying to keep our minds preoccupied during the day.

It wasn't until we suddenly heard a blood curdling howl rip through our comfortable silence that we all began to panic. Maya and Claire were in the bedroom upstairs taking a nap and I silently prayed that the howl didn't wake them up.

All three of us ran outside in a rush to come face to face with Collin's wolf, his eyes wide with worry. He whimpered slightly, backing away, his large head shaking erratically.

"Collin," Emily's voice was firm, almost like Sam's was when he gave an order. "Collin, what's going on?" His noises got louder and he seemed frightened.

 _What the hell was wrong?_

"Damn it, Collin!" I screeched. "What the hell is it?"

At the exact moment that I yelled at him, Brady came running from the woods wearing only a pair of cut off shorts. His expression matched that of Collin's wolf and it was an interesting view of the two of them.

"Jacob," Brady announced, his voice cracking at the realization. I felt like my insides were exploding, a sharp piercing pushed through my chest and I shook my head furiously. "He's alive, but he's hurt." My eyes flickered to Emily and Kim and their reactions were close to mine but not as bad. I'd been the closest with Jacob, he'd been my best friend this whole year.

"What happened?" Emily snapped out of it first, her voice business-like.

"Leah," he began. "Sh – She was trying to be brave, or prove that she could fight like the boys, but the bloodsucker noticed her too soon. Jacob intervened and the stupid leech got its arms around his body and then there were a bunch of cracks."

"What the hell was she thinking?" Kim's voice went up an octave and I turned to glare at her. "She could have gotten Jacob killed!"

"Oh shut up," I snapped at her. "You know she's gonna feel bad enough about it and she's already gonna get a lecture from Sam, which is not what she needs so just zip it!"

Her eyes grew wide at my outburst before glazing over with anger, pushing her face towards me. "Well she deserves to get a lecture, Adrienne! She wasn't thinking straight!"

"Oh and I'm sure Jared does every fucking thing right?" I challenged her, my eyes were hard on hers and I wasn't ready to back down. I saw the fire ignite in her eyes at the sound of his name and I smirked.

"Both of you just stop it," Emily scolded us, pushing me away from Kim. "It isn't any of our jobs to decide what happens with Leah. She made her choice and it's over, okay? Sam will take care of it."

I bit back an offensive comment about Sam's controlling behavior and turned back to Brady. He was watching the three of us warily, obviously confused by the scuffle. "Jacob's going to be okay, right?"

He nodded. "That's what Dr. Leech told him, he's just in a lot of pain."

I shivered at those words and closed my eyes.

Jacob was going to be okay. He would survive.

Leah was going to be so damn upset at herself, even more than she already was. She hated the way that she treated people but she didn't want to appear weak, at least not to the pack. They already looked at her with pity when she first phased. Pity because she was Sam's annoying ex-girlfriend that he couldn't get rid of. Pity because of her father's heart attack. Pity because she was the only girl in a pack with ten other boys. Pity because her menstrual cycle ceased as soon as she started phasing, which is generally chalked up to the idea that she's unable to have children.

She's pitied by everyone and everything and she hates herself for it.

"Is everyone else okay?" Kim asked quietly.

Brady nodded. "Everyone else is walking away unscathed. Seth got beat up pretty bad but he's okay."

"I thought Seth wasn't supposed to be in the fight?" As far as I'd known he was supposed to be protecting Bella alongside Edward.

"There was a change of plans. Two leeches tracked Bella's boyfriends scent and found them, but everyone's okay. Even the Cullen's." I let out a worried breath. Everyone else was okay. "They're taking Jake to Billy's now and the leech doctor is gonna come by and help."

"He's gonna come onto the land?" Emily didn't sound upset, merely confused.

"Yeah, Sam gave him permission. Jake can't really go to a real doctor anyways." He had a point. "The guys are all gonna come here as soon as the doc gets to Jake."

I could see the wheels in Emily's head start turning. "I bet they're all starving," she mumbled to herself, backing up and entering the kitchen.

I turned to follow her but Kim grabbed my wrist. I turned to face her. "I – I'm sorry, I've just been on edge – "

"I know," I cut her off. I smiled the best I could, given the circumstances, and slipped my wrist from her grasp.

It was an hour and a half later when Sam busted through the back door and he had Emily in his arms in a matter of seconds. Kim and I both ran out the door he'd came through, coming head first with an anxious Quil. He threw me a small smile and brushed passed me, making a beeline for Claire.

When my eyes refocused, Kim was already connected to Jared and he was kissing every inch of her skin that he could find.

That's when I saw him. He was sprinting from the woods and I had no time to think before I felt myself spring forward and his arms wrapped tightly around me. I felt myself instantly relax at his warmth, the touch of his skin making me shiver even in the heat of June. My legs were wrapped securely around his waist and his breath was on my neck.

I pulled back to look at him, those smoldering brown eyes igniting a pleasant fire within me. My lips tingled and I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to tangle my fingers in his hair and capture his lip between my teeth and _never stop_. I wanted to love him, tonight and every night for the rest of my life. My mind became a blur of confusion at my thoughts and I felt myself blush shyly.

"Is your mom on call tonight?" I asked quietly, ignoring his eyes.

"Yeah, why?" He loosened his grip on me and I let my legs untangle themselves, feeling my feet hit the ground. His arm stayed wrapped around my shoulders, not wanting to let go.

I looked up at him and I could feel the tears building at the realization that he was okay. "Can I stay with you tonight?" I pleaded. "I don't feel safe unless I'm with you."

His left hand came up to brush the hair out of my eyes and I could tell that he was searching my face, trying to figure out my emotions. "Of course, Adrienne," his voice was rough now and I felt myself blush deeper.

I was going to tell him that I loved him tonight.

 **AN: Reviews are always accepted! :) -J.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14 – Adrienne  
June 2010 PART FOUR**

I sat cross-legged on Embry's bed, flipping through the photobook I had gotten him for his birthday in January, smiling at the old memories. The times were simpler then, when we were foolish enough to believe that werewolves and vampires were myths. He was in the shower and I was trying my best to keep my mind occupied at that idea.

My ivory skin looked so strange constantly smooshed between three Native boys, but each of us were wearing bright smiles and we all looked so _happy_. I let my mind wander back to that first day when I had so bravely introduced myself to the three boys who were obviously talking about me.

Embry had been so shy that day – as he usually was – and I'd barely heard him speak at all until I left the beach. It took weeks for me to break him out of his confined space where he didn't talk and I saw a light crimson come across his cheeks. He was sweet in a way that most guys weren't and that's what had always intrigued me about him. His demeanor made it easy to fall for him and I'd suddenly become obsessed with getting his attention.

I wanted him to do something out of the ordinary. I thrived on watching his perfectly white teeth flash when I said something he liked, or the way his eyes lit up when I brought up his hobbies rather than Jacob's. His laugh was rough but comforting and his touch had never been anything but gentle.

The door opened then, a light breeze coming into the stuffy room. Embry was dressed in nothing but a pair of red basketball shorts. His hair had grown out slightly, hanging around his ears, and he was rubbing the towel through it.

You would think that after hanging around him without a shirt on would make me immune to the reaction that most girls get, but it never eased up. His stomach was perfect, the contours firm, and his torso was long. He was leaner than Jacob, but more muscular than Quil. He looked strong and healthy and sexy like he always did.

I felt my heart speed up as I eyed the waistline of his shorts. He turned to look at me, his eyes wide with fear, and I silently cursed myself. Of course I had to feel this way about a werewolf, who could hear every time my heart beat sped up or my breath caught. He could sense when I felt uneasy and it had been incredibly hard to fight those feelings.

"Are you alright?" he asked, throwing the damp towel over his desk chair and coming over to sit by me. My heart launched again and I quickly focused back to the photo album.

"Yes, I'm fine," I assured him. "Just…Reminiscing."

He didn't push any further, instead he flipped to the next page of the album. I grinned happily at the photo that I'd snapped of the three boys wearing elf hats at our small Christmas party. Leah had been there, too, and we'd opened presents and eaten so much food that it probably should have been illegal.

"Are you hungry?" His breath hit my face in a desirable way as he asked the question and I fought back a shiver. I shook my head, afraid of a shaky voice if I spoke. "Is there anything specific that you'd like to do? We can watch a movie or something."

"I'm actually pretty tired," I admitted, closing the album and pushing myself closer to the wall.

He looked disappointed but nodded anyways, always trying to please me. "Okay, I'll see you in the morning then," he stood and began walking toward the door.

"Where are you going?" I practically yelled in panic.

He threw a confused look at me. "To sleep on the couch?"

"Why don't you just sleep in here?" I tried not to give anything away by my voice but I was unconvinced. "It's kind of cold, and you keep me warm."

His eyes locked with mine almost instantly and I felt my insides ignite in a good way. His eyes were filled with desire, but they had a certain softness in them. He nodded carefully and strode over to the bed. I tried continuously to tame my wild heart but there was no hope.

We settled together under the blankets, my head on his chest and his arm wrapped securely around me. I closed my eyes, reveling in the moment. I had never felt as safe as I always did with him. I listened to his rapid heartbeat and let it calm my nerves.

I wasn't even sure why I was so nervous. He loved me and I loved him. We just had never said it out loud before. His breath was starting to draw out, his body starting to relax, and I knew that I needed to do or say something now.

"Embry?" I asked quietly, part of me hoping that he'd fallen asleep.

He stirred for a moment before replying. "Yeah?"

I took a deep breath and pulled back to look at his face. There wasn't a single feature on his face that wasn't beautiful, which made it hard to focus. "Do you love me?" My voice was barely above a whisper and I watched the mix of emotions flicker across his face – confusion, curiosity, and hope. "I mean, I know that you want to protect me and take care of me and I just wanted to know if this… this thing between us – whatever it is – is like how it is with the others…" I trailed off, not sure what else to say.

"Like what others?" his voice was cautious and I closed my eyes for a moment, gaining composure of the emotions I was feeling.

It would be easier if I would just come out and say it, if anything I could always go crash with Leah tonight. "Am I your imprint?"

I surveyed his reaction carefully. The first emotion that I saw was surprise, which was followed by worry and then determination. He didn't say anything for a while and I waited, rather impatiently, for him to finally say something.

"If I said yes, would that scare you away?"

"I just learned that vampires and werewolves are real," I admitted. "I don't think much can scare me at this point."

"Okay," he smirked at my choice of words but didn't go into any detail.

"You didn't answer my question," I pointed out, laying my head on the pillow so our faces were level.

He raised an eyebrow. "Why do you want to know?"

I averted my eyes, focusing on his left earlobe. I snorted inwardly, even his ear was cute. A blush crept onto my cheeks then and I met his smoldering eyes again.

"I'm just…afraid of being disappointed if," I paused for a moment, searching for the correct words. "If you end up imprinting on somebody else."

He furrowed his eyebrows together at the words. "Disappointed," he repeated.

"I mean…if you imprinted on me then it would just sort of prove that we were meant to be together, right?" I let my eyes fall to my hands and I bit my lip slightly. "If the world was the way it was supposed to be, without all this weird magic shit, then you and I would have still been together. Which means that we made the right choice back in February…we were it for each other."

"We _are_ it for each other," he whispered. His voice was solemn and I could tell by the emotion in his eyes that he was thinking hard. He always wore his emotions in his eyes, no matter how composed his face would be. When his eyes met mine, they smoldered darkly and I almost lost my breath. "It's always been you, Adrienne."

My heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest at the same time that his hand came up to brush my cheek lightly. We were only inches apart and I felt like everything in that moment was in slow motion. He pressed his lips to mine, softly. This kiss was nothing like the ones we'd shared before. Those had all been rushed and lust-filled. This was gentle and could be described as absolute perfection.

He pulled back and I could tell that he was nervous. His eyes were searching for something in mine, as if the kiss hadn't been confirmation enough. I wasn't ready to speak yet, so instead I trailed my fingers along his chest. They fluttered up his neck, around his cheek, and just barely touched his lips, tracing around to the back of his neck.

My pulse quickened and I pulled him to me with as much force as I could. He obliged, our lips colliding in perfect harmony again and I let my eyes close on instinct. Our kisses were careful but natural, and the warmth from his skin made my face flush embarrassingly but I didn't care. Nothing in the world mattered at all except for this moment. All I knew was Embry.

Our bodies pressed against each other tightly and a soft moan escaped his perfect mouth, heightening my senses by a thousand. My hands fisted his hair as my legs tangled with his. We rolled so he was on top of me now and my breath caught as his tongue found mine, wrestling for dominance.

I pulled back, wanting to taste more of him. I placed gentle, open-mouthed kisses at the corner of his mouth and along his jaw, finding the sensitive spot just below his earlobe and flicking my tongue out. A lust-filled growl emanated from his lips, his hips grinding into mine, and I couldn't help the throaty laugh as I trailed farther down his neck.

I was content here with him, knowing that there was nothing that could ever separate the two of us again. He was my protector, the person that would be there through each trial and tribulation in my life. He left once with no choice and he still hated himself every day for it. He needed to know that I was okay now and that all was forgiven.

I pushed away all my fears, the myriad of kisses seizing at the area that connected his shoulder and neck. Instead, the tip of my nose found solace there and I breathed deeply, inhaling the pine scent that I was so accustom to, before speaking. "I'm in love with you, Embry," my voice was small and breathless but I knew that he would hear me.

He froze for just a moment and pulled his head around to face me, his dark eyes filled with an endless amount of adoration. His forehead rested gently on mine and he flashed a breathtaking smile at me. "I'm in love with you, too," he admitted. A wave of relief washed over me in that moment before I pulled him back to me, never wanting to let go, and realizing that I really never had to.

…

 **AN: Hey guys! I just wanted to let everyone know that I decided to end the story here. I feel like this is the perfect place for me to end it – Adrienne was finally able to completely forgive Embry and they've confessed their love for each other. I also wanted to let you know that this is gonna be a stand-alone story. I'm working on a few others right now and they sort of mix together and for future questions I just want you all to know that this is not included. Thank you guys so much for hanging out with me while I created Adrienne Collins and her part of the story. – J.**


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